Brabus reveals Rocket 900 Desert Gold Edition

Difficult as it is to comprehend, some people believe the twin-turbo V12-powered Mercedes-Benz S 65 AMG doesn’t have enough gristle.

We know, right? I mean, BMW refuses to build an M7 because it doesn’t think it fits its brand, yet there so many customers looking for an M7-style limo that not only can they get one from AMG (two, if you include the biturbo V8 S 63), but they can go even further and get one from Brabus.

Brabus has just hit the Dubai motor show by matching heat with heat, delivering a Rocket 900 Desert Gold Edition, which promises to fit right in with its new flagship store in the Gulf emirate.

It claims the Rocket 900 Desert Gold will crank out a top speed the naughty side of 350km/h. It’s done this by coercing the 6.0-litre V12 to give up 662kW of power and a John Deere-ish 1500Nm of torque, though it has to be limited here to 1200Nm.

With only rear-wheel drive, quoting a zero to 100km/h figure would be more or less pointless (alright, 3.7 seconds), but Brabus does quote 9.1 seconds from zero to 200km/h.

As a benchmark, McLaren’s new 570 S Coupe takes 0.4 seconds longer, and the sports car only weighs 1300kg. It also means it only takes the Brabus 5.4 seconds to punch from 100km/h to 200km/h.

AMG got its power for the S 65 by taking Mercedes-Benz’s original V12 and throwing everything out to start again. Brabus has found its power by taking AMG’s upgraded V12 and throwing everything out and starting again.

There’s a custom billet crankshaft with a longer stroke and the cylinders have been bored out, too, pushing the capacity up to 6.3 litres.

Matched forged pistons are custom made and the balanced connecting rods are hewn from billets. The turbochargers are bigger, with larger compressors and larger turbines, while the exhaust down pipes balloon out to 80mm.

There’s a new air intake, too, pulling air in through a new duct behind the grille, into a new filter box complete with reflective gold sheathing to reduce the air temperature.

There’ll be no high-pitched screaming though, with the V12 delivering its 900 metric horsepower at only 5500rpm, while its torque peak hits at 4200rpm. All this and Brabus still claims an NEDC fuel consumption figure of just 11.9L/100km.

AMG’s venerable seven-speed automatic transmission has been volunteered into service here, in concert with a limited-slip differential.

The Rocket 900 Desert Gold scores plenty of aerodynamic and interior tweaks – the former to keep the limousine on the road at speed and the latter to remind you what you paid for when driving conditions are more limited than you might like.

The signature quilted stitching you expect from Brabus has gold seams now (desert gold, geddit?), along with 299 other pieces strewn throughout the cabin.

It rides on massive forged alloy monoblock wheels, with gold pinstripes, naturally, and Continental, Pirelli and Yokohama have all signed on to supply its 255/35 ZR21 front tyres and 295/30 ZR21 rears.

The suspension is based around an air suspension system, which lowers its ride height by 15mm “without compromising its ride quality” (cough, cough).