Brabus GLK V12: 200mph SUV

There are plenty of German tuners out there willing to sharpen up 911s and Italian supercars, but none do tweaks with quite the impact of Brabus. The Mercedes specialist has done something quite mad and shoehorned a ferocious V12 engine into the Three-pointed Star’s GLK mini-suv. And when we say ferocious, we really mean it: how does a 211mph top speed, 740bhp power figure and maxium torque of 995lb ft grab you? The latter arrives at just 2100rpm, but understandably has to be limited to keep things sane and allow the GLK’s rubber to actually find traction. So Brabus makes sure a mere 811lb ft gets to the wheels. Sensible, that. The engine’s colossal power comes courtesy of an increase in displacement (from the Merc-sourced V12’s 5.5 litres to 6.3) and the fitment of two stonking turbochargers, with suitably potent intercoolers. There are also free-flow metal catalysts and a stainless steel exhaust system tailored for the GLK to allow the twin-turbo weapon strapped to the front enough air. As well as the ludicrous top speed there are also some hypercar-worrying acceleration figures: 0-62mph takes 4.2sec while 124mph arrives in 12.8sec. Quicker than a Land Rover Freelander, we’d say, and we’d definitely advise against drinking while doing it. Brabus has also put some effort into prepping the GLK for the onslaught of extra power, with coilover sports suspension, which his height adjustable and allows ten different settings for bound and rebound. More powerful brakes are fitted, too, with 12-piston calipers and 380mm grooved discs up front and six-piston calipers with 360mm vented and grooved discs at the back. They’re shrouded by 22in alloys with the option of special Pirelli or Yokohama rubber. So if the performance boasted by the eRuf Stormster electric Cayenne doesn’t excite you, this Brabus GLK should just do the trick. It’d certainly be a one-sided twin test. Follow evo on Twitter or become a fan on our Facebook page