THE NEW BRABUS XLP 800 ADVENTURE IS THE SUPERTRUCK YOU NEVER KNEW YOU NEEDED - FOR A MERE R15,250,000.
In 2020, BRABUS took the G-Wagen and gave it a bakkie-style rear-end, portal axles, and attitude, birthing the insane XLP pickup series. Now, it’s back with an even more unhinged evolution - meet the BRABUS XLP 800 ADVENTURE, a twin-turbo V8-powered, carbon-clad, portal-axled luxury land hammer that’s as happy crawling boulders as it is pulling valet duty at a Monaco casino. Built on the latest Mercedes-AMG G 63 (W 465 series), this thing drives straight over any boundaries, thanks to a custom chassis, an extreme suspension setup, and a jaw-dropping 47 cm of ground clearance. Wrapped in BRABUS WIDESTAR carbon widebody panels and riding on forged 22-inch wheels wrapped in all-terrain rubber, it’s 532 cm of unapologetic excess. And yes, it costs €750,800 before taxes, which will be over R15,500,000 if you’re a wealthy Saffer wanting to have one of the most insane look-at-me cars on the planet. At its core, the XLP 800 ADVENTURE is a G 63 turned pickup, but that’s underselling it. The transformation begins with a steel and carbon rear cabin wall, followed by a full pickup bed lined with marine-grade soft teak wood. A longer wheelbase (+50 cm) accommodates the custom bakkie partition, while the double roll bars, matte black roof rack, and optional rooftop tent hint at serious overlanding ambitions. Add a BRABUS carbon hood, roof-mounted LED light bar, a carbon winch-ready front fascia, and a tailgate trimmed in more exposed-structure carbon, and you've got presence - and then some. The wildest part is the portal axles. Instead of mounting the wheels at the ends of the axle like normal mortals, BRABUS inserts CNC-milled components between the hubs and the axles, raising the whole truck by nearly half a metre. This setup not only improves approach, breakover, and departure angles but also enables a wading depth of up to 91.6 cm. BRABUS even milled new suspension links and supports from high-strength aluminium, reinforcing everything for hardcore off-road durability. The Ride Control coilover suspension, developed with KW, features adjustable damping and ride height - all selectable from the cabin.
Under the squared-off carbon bonnet lies the heart of the beast - a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre BRABUS 800 V8 pumping out 588 kW with a monstrous 1,000 Nm of torque. That’s enough to launch this 2.7-tonne monster from 0-100 km/h in just 4.8 seconds. The top speed is limited to 210 km/h, because, well, physics and those chunky 325/55 R22 all-terrains aren’t made for silly speeds. Power delivery is either automatic or manual via carbon BRABUS paddle shifters. The upgraded turbos with larger compressor units and recalibrated boost maps (via the plug-and-play PowerXtra control unit) ensure grunt across the rev range. Backing up that thunder is a BRABUS stainless steel sport exhaust system with active butterfly valves. Select “Coming Home” for stealth mode or unleash the V8 bellow with “Sport” mode. Twin side-exit pipes (in carbon housings with red-lit “Launch Ambience” surrounds) complete the theatre. While the exterior is all matte black menace, the interior takes a wildly different turn - Sky Blue. This BRABUS MASTERPIECE cabin is trimmed in full leather and Alcantara, with quilted “Diamond Double” stitching on the seats and door panels, perforated inserts for seat climate control, and embossed “77” logos - a nod to BRABUS’s birth year. The blue leather even wraps the headliner’s centre section, surrounded by Alcantara. There’s a rear overhead gauge cluster showing speed, time, and date, while carbon fibre is used liberally across the dash, steering wheel, pedals, and more. Even the door lock pins are aluminium BRABUS specials. BRABUS also adds power-retractable side steps - illuminated by LEDs that activate when you approach the truck or pull a door handle. Rear doors swing open via special Easy Entry hinges, because, of course, they do. The wheels are 22-inch forged BRABUS Monoblock HD alloys, designed to withstand immense off-road loads. They feature an 8-lug pattern and sit beneath those massive WIDESTAR flares, which give the XLP 800 ADVENTURE a massive 210 cm width. At the front, a winch integrated into the carbon fascia offers a 4,500 kg pull capacity - not that you’ll ever need rescuing. Each BRABUS XLP 800 ADVENTURE is made to order and buyers can specify everything from the interior colour to the level of lunacy in the options list. Whether you want more marine cues, overlanding add-ons, or simply a louder exhaust, Bottrop’s finest will make it happen.
Take a look at the YouTube video that shows off what the Mercedes-AMG G63 can look like after you chuck millions of Rands worth of carbon fibre and motor upgrades, and more bits than you can think of at it. These chaps at BRABUS don't mess around: BRABUS XLP 800 ADVENTURE | BE BOLD. GO ANYWHERE. | BRABUS
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