GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Brabus to unleash 478kW 650 Cabrio

Brabus has announced it will unveil a heavily tuned version of the Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Cabriolet at the Geneva motor show next week.

Called the 650 Cabrio, Brabus says it has boosted performance over the standard car's twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 to an incredible 478kW/800Nm.

As a result, the 650 Cabrio can now hit 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds and top out at around 320km/h.

To help keep it stable at such high speeds, the German tuner says it put the regular C 63 back in a wind tunnel to develop new carbon aero aids to keep it stable.

The air bending upgrades include a new carbon-fibre front spoiler, front bumper side air intakes, a larger rear diffuser and small aero deflectors on the rear arches that increase stability at high speed.

The increased power (+103kW) has been extracted from the standard car's V8 thanks to the addition of a pair of larger turbos, a new auxiliary control unit and a larger stainless steel exhaust system.

According to Brabus, the new control unit optimises boost pressure and alters both the fuel injection system and the ignition.

The standard car's stop-start system is retained and the new exhaust features a new quiet "Coming Home" mode.

Helping deploy all that power and torque is a new sport suspension developed by Brabus that allows owners to lower the standard car's springs by between 20mm and 40mm.

The new springs are combined with new adaptive dampers.

Inside, the C 63 S interior has been junked for new black leather seats that boast blue decorative elements.

Despite the huge power upgrades, Brabus claims the more powerful 650 Cabrio can average 9.3L/100km and emit 218g/km of CO2 - the same figures Mercedes AMG claims for its C63 S.