Brabus unveils 1000hp Rocket GTC ‘Deep Red’

The chances of Monterey Car Week occurring without a Brabus world premiere are roughly the same as the Premier League season kicking off without a goal being scored in the opening weekend – in other words, it ain’t happening. Quite what it would bring to Pebble Beach this year was a different question: Brabus having increased its portfolio in recent years to encompass a veritable smorgasbord of luxury brands, including Porsche and Rolls-Royce. (In point of fact, the new widebody Brabus 700, based on the Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II will also be revealed in California, but it’s very much a case of ‘spot the difference’ with the Blue Sky version it launched last October.) 

For its tentpole feature, Brabus stuck with what it knows best: souped-up Mercedes. And while its new ‘Hyper Gran Turismo Convertible’ probably isn’t going to win as many fans as the shooting brake derivative that preceded it (and that you might also recall from October), it would be hard to argue with the decision to go open-top in the Golden State. Nor with the idea that the resulting car absolutely needed to retain the 1,000hp powertrain that distinguished the Brabus Rocket GTS. Or even that this car should be called the Rocket GTC Deep Red. This is Pebble Beach, after all – you go big or you go home. 

So what do you get? Well, much like the shooting brake, not a lot of change from a million quid, for one thing. Brabus says it will build the newcomer to order (orders being the thing that draws tuners and restomodders and OEMs to Monterey like moths to a bunsen burner) and that its suggested retail price for the vehicle pictured is 697,800 euros before taxes. For reference, that’s a significant saving over the 789,000 euros a Rocket GTS would cost you, a difference that can presumably be attributed to the time and energy spent on creating that model’s bespoke roof. In the GTC, the electro-hydraulically operated fabric top is retained. 

But much else, of course, is different. For one thing, the new body is made entirely from carbon fibre and finished with a transparent red coating. It’s easy to appreciate so much composite when you consider that the Rocket’s various ‘sophisticated aerodynamic components’ and the need to accommodate enormous 21/22 inch, 335-section tyres (at the back) have significantly increased the width of the car. You’ll probably have noted the full-width ducktail rear spoiler back there, too, not to mention the quad titanium tailpipes. Which are illuminated red for your viewing pleasure. 

There ought to be no shortage of sound coming from them, either. As you might expect, the GTC gets the same heavily uprated 4.5-litre twin-turbocharged V8 as the Rocket GTS, which is capable of delivering 796hp and up to 922lb ft of torque on its own. The familiar Mercedes-AMG hybrid system, comprising an electric motor, two-speed transmission and supremely fast-charging 6.1kWh battery, adds another 204hp and sufficient peak twist for Brabus to limit the total system output to 1,195lb ft to preserve the drivetrain components – among them, presumably, the nine-speed automatic. Even with an electronic lasso around it, the all-wheel-drive GTC will apparently get you to 62mph in 2.6 seconds and onto a limited top speed of 197mph. 

Alongside a quoted 9.5 seconds to 124mph, Brabus helpfully points out that all this makes the Rocket one of the fastest open-top hybrids in the world. And, thanks to the interior, one of the reddest. It goes without saying that the cabin is entirely upholstered in fine leather, much of it quilted, offset by yet more carbon fibre. The show car sticks doggedly with its theme, though we’re guessing you can have as much (or as little) of this as you like if you leave Pebble Beach with a signed contract. But prospective customers will have much else to turn their heads over the weekend. We’re just getting started.