Hi all I'm currently playing with the thought of getting the new S65 Coupé and adding the Brabus 900 hp upgrade. I've never owned a Brabus car before, and while I'm sure they make a nice product, I'll like to hear from someone who have actual experience with the more powerful V8 and V12 cars. How is service compared to stock and how reliable have they been? It will not be a daily, but it should see 8000 or so km annually, Thank you in advance.
I've had one experience with them, however it was not related to what you're doing, for what its worth I found them helpful and professional, in my cituation they actually discovered a way to save me some money which is rare,,
Be prepared to spend $$, both at the build and when it is time to sell it. Brabus is way more expensive then Renntech but is absolutely top notch in quality and execution. I had 2004 S600 that I went with full Brabus (except exterior) mechanical conversion (mid 700hp at the time). Paid for car $135k and Brabus about $85k for a total of $220k. Car was a monster, had no problems with MB warranty, after 1.5 year and 21k miles got $95k in trade (the car was shopped by my dealer for a full month to almost all specialty dealers in US). Regular S600 at that time would bring about $80k in same condition. If you have $$ to burn, do it and you will not look back as there is nothing on the market that compares to it. If I were you though, I would do a turbo upgrade with S63 instead, AWD will give you traction that the car with 800/900HP sorely needs, my old S600SV was very difficult to launch quick from a stop .
+1 The S63 sounds better as well. Given that the torque is limited on both thanks to the gearbox and the extra weight of the V12 I think performance wise there isn't much between them either.
+3. S63 is 4wd, not a drift car like S65. S65 motor is nice, but really old. M157 in S63 is great motor, 800 not hard. S65 has crushing depreciation. Worse than an FF depreciation. S63 sl better. Brabus money will disappear as you drive off from the shop. If that doesn't matter, okay, I've done similar But for driving, S63 much better starting point.
I can accept the fact that it will depreciate - but that's part of this game. One of my reasons for choosing Brabus, is because I'm in northern Europe. Ease of maintenance is a priority. I'm not into the 63. We used to have both an SL 63 and 600, and to be fair, I prefer the more refined sound of the V12. As for turbo upgrade, the engine in the S 65 Coupé is already a turbo, so not sure why a 63 would be different in that aspect. The whole idea here is to have a "special" GT, something different. I've always liked the Merc V12, it's an amazing engine. The point of this car is to have an autobahn cruiser than will gobble up road like nobody's business when you put your foot in it. There's something seductive about a big V12 and a huge load of power under the right foot. I believe it was Carroll Shelby who said "If less is more and more is better, too much is just enough."
To me the S63's AWD makes a hell of a difference, makes all that power usable at all times. My S600 was impossible to drive (traction control constantly on) in Winter and not just in snow, subzero temps mean horrible traction as well. AWD is unbeatable in Northern Europe climate.
I have a Kleemann K3 kit on my SL55 going on 9yrs now and although not a Brabus or Renntech conversion "by name" they are all similar in what they provide as companies and mods (cams, pullys, headers, ECU tune, etc) and performance upgrades. All these vendors deliver a transformation to the cars with NO maintenance/reliabilty issues taking/making great cars into Super Cars in terms of almost all performance number catagories and still have the comfort and maintainability of a daily driver. I have had zero issues from the mods in terms of reliability/maintainability. I highly recommend it! The cost benefit is relative to the individuals desires and is only there IMO if you drive your car regularly or keep it for awhile, because as mentioned - it adds minimal $ relative to the expense in components at resale or you have to find the right buyer, to pay the premium which can take a loooong time.
