This is the Brabus Rocket GTS, and it’s a two-door sliding brake that might make you think of a BMW from the ’90s.

• New Brabus Rocket GTS revealed
• Shooting brake version of the Mercedes SL
• Wild exterior styling
• V8 hybrid system provides 1,000 hp
• Completely renovated interior
• Prices are expected to start from over £300,000

Brabus is well known for coming up with some crazy machines, and this is one of the most extreme cars it has come up with yet. The Rocket GTS starts life as a Mercedes SL, but it has received a new shooting brake at the rear.

Revamping the styling is just part of the Brabus treatment, as the GTS packs a 1,000bhp V8 engine and the interior has also been reworked.

New Brabus Rocket GTS design

Two-door shooting brakes are few and far between these days. If you’re not sure what a shooting brake is, it’s basically a sporty-looking two-door estate car with a sloping roofline.

From the front, the Rocket GTS looks much the same as Brabus 750 Bodo Buschmann – a heavily modified Mercedes SL. That means it has the SL’s pointed headlights and a much more aggressive-looking lower bumper.

It’s the side profile that sets the GTS apart. It might make you think of the BMW Z3 M Coupe from the 1990s, a car that was affectionately known as the “clown shoe” because of its long hood and stubby rear end. Brabus has massive flared wheel arches, huge vents in the front wings and five-spoke carbon fiber wheels.

The GTS is just as impressive from the rear. The new body is done in exposed carbon fiber, and there is a large lip spoiler below the window. Those taillights are the same as the SL’s, and there’s an aggressive-looking lower bumper with a large diffuser and square tailpipes.

New Brabus Rocket GTS engine and performance

Under the hood of this crazy creation you will find the same engine as Brabus Rocket 1000 – a well-tuned version of the Mercedes-AMG GT 4 Door. It starts as Mercedes’ own 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, but it’s been bored to 4.5-litres and had some new turbos fitted.

There’s also a new crankshaft and exhaust system – as well as the GT 4-Door’s hybrid system – and the result is 1,000 hp and 1,820 Nm of torque. It does 0-60 mph in just 2.7 seconds, making it just 0.1 second slower than a Porsche 911 Turbo S, and top speed is limited to 197 mph.

New Brabus Rocket GTS interior

The final part of a Brabus overhaul is a redesigned interior. The Rocket GTS shares the same basic cabin layout as the Mercedes SL, meaning you have the same portrait touchscreen in the middle, but the materials have received a massive upgrade.

You can customize it more or less however you want. All leather is upgraded over the regular SL with different grain patterns and there’s plenty of carbon fiber on the doors, center console and steering wheel. An Alcantara dashboard gives a feeling of sportiness, as well as reducing reflections in the windscreen.

New Brabus Rocket GTS price

So how much will this piece of German madness set you back? Probably quite a lot. Brabus hasn’t said how much it will cost, nor has it confirmed how many will be made. The ultra-rare 750 Bodo Buschmann started from £290,000, so it’s safe to assume the Rocket GTS will push north of £300,000.

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