While things were flying around in the air show, automotive marvels were rocketing around on land at the International Motor Show 2015 in Dubai this week. Brabus Rocket 900 Desert Gold Edition was one such land vehicle driving fast enough to lift off.
The Rocket 900 is a twin-turbocharged, V-12-powered Mercedes-Benz S 65 that has been heavily modified by the tuning experts at Brabus. The biturbo boosted engine aims to deliver a peak power of 900 horsepower, hence the 900 in its name, and a peak torque of 1,106 pound-foot.
This beast of a car can hit 62 mph in 3.7 seconds, though, according to reports that traction has been a bit of an issue. The four-door car tops out somewhere north of 217 mph.
"The 12-cylinder engine of the S 65 is revised in every detail in the Brabus engine shop, which is equipped with a state-of-the-art machine park," says Brabus.
Increasing the displacement from 5.5 to 6.3 liters is a custom billet crankshaft that's accompanied by a larger cylinder bore and custom billet connecting rods.
"Modifications to the engine peripherals also play a large role in the enormous power output," Brabus says. "The two production turbos are replaced with turbochargers that have a larger compressor unit and a larger turbine as well as modified exhaust manifolds."
Aerodynamics is critical to the Rocket 900's speed and acceleration. Brabus designed a conversion kit to help the reconfigured Mercedes-Benz sedan minimized its aerodynamic lift, balancing out the front and rear axle for an ideal balance.
"The front bumper of the S 65 is upgraded not only visually with the Brabus front spoiler lip and the front bumper attachments with a markedly sporty clear-coated carbon-fiber finish," says the afermarket tuning company. "The shape optimized in the wind tunnel also reduces lift on the front axle."
And because you don't build a car this mechanically impressive without prettying it up, Brabus went all out with two-tone leather works with an infotainment system fleshed snugly inside the supercar.
