Brabus takes on the SLS

The motoring world has waited with a mix of fear and hope for Brabus to unleash hell inside AMG's stunning new SLS – but it looks like it will need to wait a bit longer.

While the Ruhr Valley hot Benz tuning house has finally unveiled its version of the critically acclaimed gull-winged SLS, it has kept the anticipation simmering by showing only cosmetic, exhaust and chassis changes.

Even though the standard SLS pumps out 368kW of power from its 6.2-litre V8 engine, there had been expectations that Brabus would force-feed the dry-sumped supercar to push its peak power out to well beyond the 450kW mark and take the SLS into the stratified air of the Lamborghini Murcielago and the Ferrari 599 GTO.

Instead, a titanium exhaust adds only 10 horsepower, with no internal fiddles to the engine and no turbo or super chargers bolted alongside it.

Yet those hopes will have to wait, because the first Brabus SLS instead boasts of aerodynamic tweaks, extensive use of carbon fibre, a new, adjustable suspension system and the exhaust system, which boasts a new, quiet "Coming Home" mode.

So the Brabus SLS will debut at the Paris Motor Show at the end of the month with its heaviest sports car artillery still in the arsenal, because its first efforts at tweaking the SLS promise a car with a slightly broader breadth of ability and even more luxury, but only a fraction more speed.

Still, Brabus is promising that it’s in its final development phase for the high-powered version of V8, which will run the new car's Brabus titanium exhaust.

Easily identified by its four, 84mm (3.3-inch) wide slanted exhaust tips, the exhaust saves 12kg (26lb) – or 40 per cent – compared to the already-efficient AMG system.

It also shows Brabus's understanding of domestic life, because it boasts pneumatic bypass valves that makes the V8 even louder than the AMG version when it’s open for mountain blasting, yet has a "Coming Home" mode that is quieter than the standard car when the valves are closed.

Another of its tweaks is the height-adjustable suspension system, which can lower the car's ride height by 40mm (1.6-inches). The active suspension system offers dampers that can swap between comfort and handling settings at the push of a button and, to compliment this, there will also soon be a lift kit to give its nose another 50mm (2.0-inches) of clearance for driveways and speed bumps.

Externally, the Brabus version will be easy to spot by its huge extended vents behind its larger front wheels (which light up with blue Brabus lettering every time you hit the remote key or pull a door handle), plus its extended front spoiler.

The carbon spoiler, which can (like all the Brabus SLS's carbon parts) be either clear coated or body coloured, has been wind-tunnel tested to reduce front-axle lift and improve engine cooling.

Where the SLS's big wheels are good, Brabus insists its bigger wheels are better. It has designed its own wheels, which lift the size to 9.5J x 20-inch front wheels and 11J x 21-inch rear wheels – and they're 12 per cent lighter than the standard units, too. Both Pirelli and Yokohama supply the 275/30 ZR20 front and 295/25 ZR21 rear tyres.

Inside, there’s a swathe of Brabus leather and carbon fibre, with a 400km/h speedometer hinting at the sort of performance the SLS will have when its engine scores the full Brabus engine treatment.