The Brabus 900 Crawler is a Mercedes-Benz G wagon-based dune buggy purely built for off-roading.
Brabus is known for producing some of the fastest and meanest automobiles on the planet. It also happens to be the largest Mercedes-Benz tuning company after Mercedes-AMG itself. The 900 Crawler is the world's first purpose built off-road-oriented Brabus, and it has been heavily tuned as it offers an output close to 900 HP. The vehicle has the face of a G63 AMG and can drive around any terrain on the planet. The car is stripped off completely, and the chassis remains to be bare bones. Since it is highly off-road-oriented, it does not feature any doors or roof panels and is not even street-legal in most countries worldwide.
The Brabus 900 Crawler is an off-roader that came as a surprise as Brabus only makes street-focused high-performance vehicles. This happens to be the carmaker’s first venture into the world of off-roading, and they have done it in some style.
RELATED: The New 888-HP Brabus Crawler Is The Ultimate Dune Racer
The front fascia of this car resembles that of the G Wagon, but the only thing shared between the 900 Crawler and the G Wagon happens to be the engine and the transmission. Every other part and panel distinguishes the two trims and are developed in-house by Brabus. So, the chassis, frame, suspension setup, and all other mechanical bits have been built from scratch. Apart from this, the off-roader’s proportions are so enormous that 21-inch wheels, which come standard, look small as the overall dimension of the tire happens to be way over 40 inches. The vehicle is just bare-bones and does not feature any doors, windshield, or even roof panels. It is also stripped off in the interior department, so the tuner naturally does not offer any audio system or climate control, and the plush leather seats are given way to the racing buckets with harnesses. However, the cabin does have a 12-inch screen like the regular G Wagon. Still, the interface has some changes as it displays a topographic map, satellite imagery, route recording, and other off-road needed features.
The screen is IPX7 waterproof certified along with a closed SD card slot, and the screen has an operating temperature between, 15 degrees Celsius to 55 degrees Celsius. The company also claims that it is almost impossible to roll over the 900 Crawler in any unfortunate circumstances. Even though this beast has a very high center of gravity due to clever design elements, it will always remain firm and planted in off-road driving. On the front axle, the Crawler uses a double-wishbone suspension setup and coil springs made out of high-strength steel wire. At the back, a trailing arm suspension setup uses a special anodized surface finish. To get this massive vehicle to a halt, it uses a 400 mm diameter brake up front, and the rear disc is 370 mm in diameter, and both have fixed calipers.
The 900 Crawler is uses the same twin-turbo V8 engine found on most other AMG models, but the only difference is that it is bored out to 4.4-liter capacity in this configuration. As the name suggests, the engine delivers a power output of 900 HP. Even the turbocharger found on the vehicle is specially tuned by Brabus as they make use of a larger compressor unit to deliver more power. The inclusion of a Ram air intake increases boost pressure by 1.4 bar. Moreover, the exhaust system is also extensively modified.
It uses a stainless-steel high-performance exhaust system with exhaust flap control and two tailpipes inside pipe designs on each side. The off-roader is available as a permanent all-wheel-drive along with electronically controlled differential locks as found on the G-Wagon. The transmission setup uses a 9-speed automatic transmission which can also be controlled manually by paddle shifters. An automobile that weighs north of 6000 lbs, the Crawler has a 96-gallon fuel tank out of which 8 gallons is kept for reserve. This off-roading beast can achieve the 0 to 60 mph sprint in just 3.4 seconds; however, its top speed is restricted to 99 mph.
RELATED: Mercedes G-Class Monster Truck Makes Everything Look Small
Brabus usually limits the production numbers, and the Crawler 900 is no exception. With just 15 units available globally, it is a rare catch. Surprisingly, they happen to be sold out already, even though it holds a very hefty price tag of over $800,000. It is no surprise that it will be an iconic model in the Brabus lineup as it is one of the first off-road-oriented machines.
Being the first of any kind is usually a remarkable tag, and the Brabus 900 Crawler is the first fully off-road-oriented vehicle by the company. Its tuning potential is beyond the numbers. Overall it is expected to be a successful addition to the prestigious lineup as it conquers every terrain on the planet.
Sources: Brabus, Road and Track, Motor1
A silent soul who dares to dream, Vrushali Padia is passionate about writing ever since her college days and has written in diverse niches. She is now an Electronics Engineer and a Writer. When she is not writing, she's exploring.