Fastest street-legal SUV-Brabus GLK V12 sets
world record
NARDO, Italy--Famed Mercedes tuner, Brabus,
has produced the Brabus GLK V12, (a heavily modified Mercedes
GLK), powered by a twelve-cylinder twin turbo engine with
750hp (740bhp) / 552kW, with a top speed of 322.3 km/h (200.3
mph)-which sets the new world record for the Fastest
street-legal SUV.
Photo:The
the Fastest
street-legal SUV, powered by a twelve-cylinder twin
turbo engine with 750 hp (740 bhp) / 552 kW, celebrates its
world debut at the DUBAI INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW.
(enlarge
photo)
The top speed was measured at the Nardo
high-speed test track on October 19th, 2009, where the GLK
V12 managed to record a top speed of 322.3 km/h (200.3 mph).
Propulsion is supplied by a heavily
tuned, Mercedes sourced, twin-turbo V12 bored to 6.3L. The
engine, usually found in a Mercedes SL, produces 750 horsepower
and an Earth moving 995 lb-ft of torque.
All that torque has been limited to just 811
lb-ft to save the drivetrain borrowed from a Maybach. Transmission
is a Maybach sourced 5 speed automatic.
The re-engineerd engine got an increase
of displacement from 5.5 to 6.3 litres by implementing a special
crankshaft, larger cylinder bore, special pistons and piston
rods.
In addition the engineers from Brabus
outfitted the engine with special camshafts and the three-valve
heads were precision-machined.
Aerodynamic treatments help maintain high
speed stability at 200.3 mph, the official recorded speed.
But it is not just the incredible top speed of
322.3 km/h (211 mph) that are the basis for its fascination.
With an acceleration time from rest to 100 km/h (62 mph) of
just 4.2 seconds and 12.8 seconds to 200 km/h (124 mph) the
five-door sets new standards for its kind.
The interior of the the Fastest
street-legal SUV was refined with a fully leather
interior that can be further refined with Alcantara elements.
The interior appointments are rounded out with
an ergonomically shaped sport steering wheel, a speedometer
with 330km/h (205mph) scale and stainless-steel scuff plates
with illuminated Brabus Widestar logo.
Other interior highlights are wood trim sets
or carbon-fiber trim panels for dashboard, doors and center
console in any color. Custom-tailored consoles
for the backs of the the Fastest
street-legal SUV front seats contain multimedia devices,
such as an integrated seven-inch LCD screen and a DVD player.
The front apron of the BRABUS WIDESTAR version
was developed in the wind tunnel. Its large air dams provide
radiators and front brakes with ample cooling air. In combination
with a carbon-fiber spoiler lip the front apron also minimizes
aerodynamic lift on the front axle – a prerequisite for directional
stability beyond 300 km/h (186 mph).
Brabus
had to do so much work that the GLK V-12 cannot be registered
as a Mercedes-Benz in Germany. It must be registered as a
Brabus.
The Brabus GLK V12 starts at $580,000
(397,000 Euros).
Photo: The
the 
