Brabus SLK V8 - The Cobra from Bottrop

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Brabus SLK V8 - The Cobra from Bottrop

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Created on May 10, 2023

Text:

Wolfram Hamann

Photos:

Wolfram Hamann

22

Brabus

13

Markus Normann

5

Mercedes-Benz AG

1

41 1

Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - One of the most famous press photos in front of an Extra EA-200

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Yes, it looks good. But driving is even more fun than parking

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Discreet even in the finish: no wings or diffusers, only lettering and the exhaust reveal the sheer power

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Leather interior in the color "Sunshine", the more discreet of the two

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Steering wheel with color accents and ergonomically shaped rim

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Polished aluminum selector lever for the five-speed automatic transmission

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - even the handbrake lever has been upgraded

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Speedometer up to 300 km/h, dial in equipment color

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - The triangular rear lights are typical of the R 170, the engine capacity specification is not

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - 18-inch light-alloy wheels. They are also called "Monoblock IV" in a multi-piece version

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Where the factory only fitted a V6, Brabus stuffed in a V8

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - 6.5-liter V8 with 450 hp

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Hidden under a tarpaulin, the V8 is indistinguishable from a normal SLK

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Modernized: the front apron comes from the mop model

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Completed: Radiator grille with blackened star

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - burly appearance thanks to 255 tires on the rear axle

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Black and blue is the driving pleasure

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - the last of only five examples built

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Better safe than sorry: retrofitted moped exterior mirrors with integrated direction indicators

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - short and powerful with an almost vertical rear end

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Return to the factory halls in Bottrop

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - multi-part monoblock VI with cleverly concealed valve

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Stainless steel exhaust system for a great sound

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - escalation of the taste of the nineties: leather interior in "Bugatti blue"

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Small differences: trim parts in carbon and steering wheel emblem with laurel wreath

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Brabus speedometer up to 300 km/h. Fortunately, the dials in the blue interior are white

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Embossed emblem on the Bugatti blue headrest

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - Quilted leather and map pocket behind the seats

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - the "powerdomes" on the hood finally live up to their name here

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - half of it feels like an engine

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - the typical red valve covers disappear almost completely under the intake cover

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - with the 6.5-liter V8, the engine compartment becomes cramped

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Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 Kompressor (2001) - For comparison, a look into the engine compartment of a four-cylinder SLK

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - badge with engine number and signature of the creator

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The creator of the SLK V8: Ulrich-Joachim Gauffrés, here with his Mercedes-Benz W 110

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Ulrich-Joachim Gauffrés signs the SLK V8 from Markus Normann

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - freshly applied signature of Ulich-Joachim Gauffreés on the valve cover

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - knick-knacks for the Brabus driver with an eye for detail: car quartet, DVD and mouse pads

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Brabus SLK V8 (1997) - in the quartet game the top speed is given without limitation

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Mercedes-Benz SLK 32 AMG (2001) - Factory photo at dusk

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Summary

When reason overcomes drive at AMG, they really get going at Brabus. While Affalterbach left it at a 3.2-liter V6, the extremists from Bottrop squeezed a V8 more than twice as big under the hood of the smallest Mercedes-Benz sports car. The result was a 450 hp thunderbolt that still looked like mom's little folding roof convertible at first glance, but was capable of speeds in excess of 300 km/h. In this article, we tell the story of the Brabus SLK V8, which was only built five times.

This article contains the following chapters

A double please
More work than you might think
Yellow or blue?
Number 5 is alive
Back to the roots

Estimated reading time: 11min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Now that Mercedes-Benz has ended production of the small roadster without replacement with the discontinuation of the SLC and three years before the first SLKs receive classic car status, the Brabus SLK V8 based on the R 170 deserves a detailed appraisal. Not every reader will be familiar with this unusual car. The roadster spontaneously provokes comparisons such as "the Cobra from Bottrop". Sure, the powerful V8 with a displacement of 6.5 liters suggests this, but it doesn't really fit, as Cobras in original and, above all, less original guises populate the automotive world in comparatively impressive numbers. The SLK V8 from the Bottrop-based vehicle manufacturer and high-end tuner, on the other hand, was only built in homeopathic numbers. So let's dispense with such designations, although this literal "power car" was unfortunately not even granted a brute name such as "Bullit", "Rocket" or "Hammer" at its debut.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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