Brabus has turned up the Merc-AMG E53 to give it 690bhp

[AVANTI R5]

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Mercedes clearly can’t make up its mind on whether it should make a new AMG E63. Big boss Ola Källenius has already said the current shape E-Class won’t get a V8 engine, and it would seem downsizing is a touchy subject after the mess made of the four-cylinder C63. But it’s now two years since this W214 E-Class first launched and we’re still yet to see the proper AMG muscle car variant. Will it ever happen?

We’re not so sure, and we weren’t blown away by the plug-in hybrid six-cylinder E53 either. So perhaps Brabus can help. This is the Bottrop-based tuner’s take on the current hottest E-Class, and it has 690bhp.

Yep, thanks to a new ECU that introduces custom maps and increases the boost pressure, power is well up from the standard 604bhp and torque now sits at 627lb ft. The 0-62mph time also drops from 3.8 to 3.6 seconds for the saloon, with the estate (the one you want) just a tenth of a second behind. That is serious supercar pace. Top speed is electronically limited to 174mph.

And because this is Brabus, there’s plenty of carbon fibre. You can have new add-ons for the front lip and side skirts, plus surrounds for the grille and the extra air intakes up front. There’s also a full rear diffuser and the saloon can be fitted with a carbon rear spoiler for good measure.

There are new forged wheels available in five different designs. The 21in items you see on the wagon above are the excellent Monoblock M “PLATINUM EDITION” style. Oh, and there are height-adjustable sports springs that lower the car between 15 and 30mm.

Just because it’s got almost 700bhp, doesn’t mean this can’t still be a sensible German PHEV saloon. In fact, Brabus also offers a three-year/62,000-mile tuning warranty on all of its components.

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[Sid03SVT]

Oh cool.... a nearly 5,000lb Merc with 690BHP, considering the vanilla version starts at 80k, I can only imagine how much the Brabus goes for....