GERMANS HELPING GERMANS; Brabus does things to Mercedes. Mean, desirable things.(News)

Byline: MATT DAVIS

In 1977 Bodo Buschmann opened shop in Bottrop just north of the heavily industrialized zone around Cologne, Germany. Call it aftermarket tuner work if you like, but these days what Brabus does to Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler Group cars and trucks borders on the OEM. Shipped fresh from the factory in the case of Mercedes, in fact, and almost all sold beforehand: 7500 units in 2002, for the record. Most Brabi stay in Europe, but the North American office in Newport Beach, California, caters to ever more people wanting more of the Porsche-BMW spirit in their new Mercedes and Chryslers.

We just drove the Stuttgart version of the CLK320 cabriolet and loved it-but there's always room for improvement: Brabus' bored-out 3.8-liter S-spec V6 raises the stock 3.2-liter's output from 215 hp and 229 lb-ft of torque to 295 hp and 292 lb-ft. Imagine an Audi S4 with two doors, a drop-top and cushier seats, and you come pretty close to the sensation.

But it's the CLK500 Brabus that you really need and want. It makes the upcoming CLK55 AMG look like a taxi. The normal (and already wonderful) CLK500 uses a 5.0-liter 302-hp V8 with 340 lb-ft of torque from 2700 to 4250 rpm for a 0-to-60-mph time of 5.9 seconds. The CLK55 AMG reads 367 horses at 5750 rpm and 369 lb-ft up to 4000 rpm with a 0-to-60 time of 5.3 seconds. Then there's the Brabus, with a bored-out 6.1-liter version of the Mercedes 5.0-liter V8 good for 420 hp and maximum torque of 458 lb-ft at 4100 rpm. It has been observed launching to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and is electronically limited to 190 mph.

At the time of our drive, the cabriolet CLK500 was still going through its final tests on the Brabus back lot and at the vast Papenburg testing facility in Germany's far northwest, so we took a coupe. It was just before lunch, and traffic on the autobahn was fairly flowing. No wacky high-speed runs, but a whole lot of accelerating and slowing. We knew immediately why Brabus' work is such a hit with its customers. You get all the interior comfort and quality of Mercedes' upper range-more, actually-combined with the pulling power of a tugboat and the accelerator hesitation of a ...