The Brabus Crawler Is a 900-HP G-Wagen Buggy for Hopping Dunes

It’s built on a bespoke tube frame chassis with carbon fiber bodywork fastened to it.

byPeter Holderith|
The Brabus Crawler going off a jump.
Brabus
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Brabus makes a lot of cars that are a bit... much. We like Mercedes here at The Drive, and we're likewise fans of horsepower, but sometimes both can be taken too far. That being said, this latest creation from Brabus is something special. It looks a bit like a G-Wagen, sure, but underneath it's a custom tube-frame dune racer with a 900-horsepower 4.4-liter V8.

Obviously, this is going to be a lot more expensive than, say, a Ford Bronco Raptor, but it's also impressive in its own right in an attempt to justify what is doubtlessly an astronomical price tag. You'll notice, for instance, the truck's exposed carbon fiber body that was built bespoke for this vehicle. Now I'm no carbon fiber expert, right? But I know that's gonna cost at least $10.

In truth, Brabus does not give a price for this machine, but it's only going to make 15 of them if that tells you anything. What's more, the specs beyond the 900-horsepower V8 and the carbon body make it clear this isn't gonna be cheap. The V8 is mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission that sends power to all four 20-inch forged wheels, and bespoke, fully-adjustable bilet aluminum shocks help maintain the truck's nearly 21 inches of ground clearance. On paper, though, it has some mechanical similarities to a regular G-Wagen, with independent front suspension up front complemented by a rugged straight axle in the back. It does seem to share very few parts with that truck, though.

In all, the beast weighs around 7,000 pounds but it will still hit sixty in about 3.4 seconds. It's limited to just 99 miles per hour, probably for safety reasons. It's also not legal for use on public roads, which makes the certainly massive price tag sting a bit more. Yes, in addition to the Crawler itself, you'll need a tow rig capable of pulling this thing to your nearest off-road park in order to test it out.

It does have a few luxury features to make up for this like Bluetooth helmet-to-helmet comms, a navigation system, and luxuriously upholstered seats, but other things like a windshield and doors are missing. Clearly, this is for a wealthy off-road enthusiast, not just any obscenely rich person. Remember to tell the butler to bring your goggles—that's all I'm saying.

As well as not listing a price, Brabus also doesn't say exactly how to get one; just to reach out and ask. Needless to say, all of the 15 custom trucks are probably spoken for at this point. We normal people will just have to make do with our TRXs, Raptors, Chevy Silverado ZR2s, Wrangler 392s, Hummer EVs...

Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: peter@thedrive.com

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