Brabus Rocket is a 900-hp Mercedes missile

German tuner Brabus has launched a massively modified Mercedes with no less than 900 horsepower. The Rocket 900 is based on the AMG GT63S four-door coupe, but with an extra half a liter of displacement added to its biturbo V-8 engine, and a host of other performance enhancements.

The engine’s bore is increased by 84 mm (3.3 inches) and stroke by 100 mm (3.9 inches) for a total capacity of 4.5-liters. It’s fitted with a precision-balanced crankshaft, billet piston rods and forged pistons. The two turbos are replaced with larger Brabus spinners which increase boost to 1.4 bar. There’s a carbon fiber ram air system, high-pressure fuel pumps, and a new stainless steel quad exhaust that reduces back pressure. Flaps in the exhaust can be electronically controlled from the cabin to moderate the volume.

The net result of all this is the headline 900 hp and 922 lb-ft of torque which can propel the Rocket from rest to 62 mph in 2.8 seconds. It will hit 186 mph in 23.9 seconds, on the way to a top speed that’s limited to 205 mph. Having once driven a Brabus E-V12 to an indicated 200 mph on the German autobahn I, for one, believe the company’s claims.

Drive is delivered to all four wheels and nine-speed automatic transmission, ultimately reaching the road courtesy of 21-inch front and 22-inch rear forged Monoblock Z wheels wearing Pirelli P Zero tires. Carbon aerodiscs trim each wheel.

A widebody design allows increases the car’s width by just over three inches and features carbon fenders and a carbon front end with bigger air intakes. A multi-piece rear wing, rear diffuser, and carbon mirrors complete the aerodynamics and styling modifications.

The Rocket’s cockpit is an orgy of leather, Alcantara, and carbon fiber, all of which can be customized to owner’s desires. A “Brabus Masterpiece” plaque reminds occupants what they’re riding in—as if they could forget.

This is the fifth generation of Rocket to emerge from the Brabus silo in Bottrop, Germany ,and the first to be powered by a V-8. Making its debut in 2006 the original Rocket was a twin-turbo V-12 version of the Mercedes CLS and offered a not inconsiderable 720 hp. It set a land speed record for a street-legal sedan at 227.2 mph on the Nardo Ring in Italy.

2011’s Rocket 800 increased firepower to 789 hp, but the 2014 version dropped down to 720 hp once more. Both were still based on the CLS, while the 2015 Rocket was built on the S65 sedan and wrangled 888 hp out of the 6.3-liter V-12.

Only ten of the latest Rocket 900s are to be built at the Bottrop factory, with prices blasting off from around $515,000.