Brabus 800 Adventure XLP – For All of Your Adventures
We’ve written previously about the extremely limited, and extremely desirable, Brabus “One of Ten” 900 XLP, which is possibly the greatest pickup ever made. The truth is, those are going to be extremely hard to come by if you’re in the market for one, even if you have the resources to pay the exorbitant price on the secondary market. If you like what the 900 XLP is about – go-anywhere capability, the practicality of a truck, and the extra power and styling boosts that Brabus provides – the good news is that there’s another vehicle that should be on your radar. In fact, this one might be even more of a purpose-built adventure rig than the 900 XLP. So similar is this one to its slightly bigger brother that it even keeps a similar name, and Brabus calls it the 800 Adventure XLP.
G Class With a Pickup
As with all of Brabus’ pickups, the 800 Adventure XLP represents an almost complete re-engineering and re-imagining of the storied G Class platform. Starting with a G 63, Brabus extended the wheelbase by 20 inches. In order to do this, they also had to rework the frame quite a bit; a custom frame “module” adds some stiffness back into the frame while providing custom mounting points for the rear suspension. This also necessitated a bespoke, extended driveshaft – but more on the powertrain later.
In keeping with their other G Wagons of the past few years, you’ll also find Brabus’ Widestar styling used heavily throughout the bodywork of the 800 Adventure. However, this model does see quite a few substantial tweaks to the usual Widestar kit. Most notably, the fender flares feature some extra-custom carbon fiber trim on them, which results in a 4.6” increase in width over a standard G 63, rather than the 4” that is usual on Brabus G Wagons. This extra width on the fender flares will help keep the paint looking nice when the road turns to gravel, too. The massive brake cooling vents behind the front and rear wheels are there, too, and just below the front vents lies an extra pair of LED lights. These shine down on the running boards to help with ingress and egress, and you can even order the Adventure 800 XLP with the same proprietary, auto-extending “Stairway to Heaven” steps that were included with the 900 XLP for the ultimate ease of access.
Rather than the traditional carbon fiber front bumper that Brabus makes liberal use of elsewhere, the 800 Adventure features a very sporty hybrid-style metal bumper (with winch) that not only looks great, but provides additional ground clearance and approach angle for tackling obstacles on the trail. The winch can be used to self-recover if you get yourself stuck, or to pull out someone in a less-capable vehicle that you may come across. The rear bumper is likewise toned down a bit from what you’d usually see from Brabus, but does feature some carbon fiber accenting. It’s low profile and function-over-form, and suits the vehicle perfectly – no big diffusers here.
The optional full-length roof rack really completes the sporty look, adds another layer of functionality, and looks great behind the A pillar-mounted light bar. Here, one could store skis, snowboards, or any other gear one would need for a great adventure. The light bar itself features four extra LEDs for off-road use, and is finished in raw carbon fiber as well. Follow that luggage rack to the bed and you’ll see that it nicely meets the lines of the “double bed bar” which extends down into the bed of the truck. In addition to simply looking great and adventure-inspired (Dakar, anybody?), you can also use these as tie-downs to secure cargo in the back of the truck. All the other exterior touches you’d expect from a supercar of this clout are here, as well: custom door handles, badging, and a myriad of carbon fiber accents sprinkled all around the vehicle.
Handmade Interior
The interior receives the same world-class overhaul that Brabus is known for. Every detail is completely bespoke and customizable when the car is ordered, but the limited “First Edition” shown by Brabus features diamond-quilted leather finished in a handsome “burned oak” color. This light brown color pairs well with the glass cockpit and ample carbon fiber trim that’s been added throughout the interior. Again, even with the addition of the pickup bed, no interior room has been sacrificed, so despite looking radically different on the outside, the overall appearance of the 800 Adventure remains close to the other Brabus G Wagons.
Purpose-Built Performance
With all of these details to absorb on the Brabus 800 Adventure XLP, it would still be incredibly remiss not to address some of the other engineering feats that are less immediately noticeable. Whenever there’s a G Wagon available with portal axles, it’s a big deal, and the 800 Adventure has got ‘em. In simplest terms, portal axles move the hub upward, and out of the centerline of the wheels. From there, the power is then transmitted down to the wheels by a series of gears. What this effectively means is that it helps to move the drivetrain up a few inches, increasing ground clearance by that much; in the case of the 800 Adventure, this all adds up to a whopping 19.2” of clearance, more than essentially any other vehicle can boast straight out of the factory. The wheels are 22”, which is also different than the 23” or 24” wheels common to the more street-oriented Brabus trucks.
Turning those in-house Monoblock HD wheels is the storied Brabus V8 with twin turbos that has powered many of their vehicles before, which powers the Adventure to 62 miles an hour in 4.8 seconds. Based on the production G 63 AMG block, Brabus extensively tunes this motor to achieve the figure of 800 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque, right in line with the rest of the “800” series. And just like the other “800” vehicles, there’s also the selectable exhaust dampers included in the custom exhaust system, which exits just in front of the rear wheels like on other G Classes.
In Conclusion
While there are a few similarities between the Brabus 800 Adventure XLP and some of the other flavors of the G Wagon in their lineup (such as the V8 motor and gorgeous interior), there are more things that help to really differentiate this particular vehicle. Between the unique bodywork and bumpers, the 22” wheels, the portal axles, and… oh yeah… a pickup bed, the 800 Adventure XLP stands alone. It just might be the most offroad-capable vehicle they’ve ever done (even more than the 900 XLP), and is just as suitable for a winter trip up to Whistler as it is cruising down Pismo Beach in the summertime. With an MSRP starting at north of a half-million dollars, the Brabus 800 Adventure XLP is a masterclass in Brabus engineering, and in what the G Class itself is capable of – supreme luxury, unbeatable performance, and all the practicality and daily-driveability anyone could need.
