Typically when Mercedes tuner Brabus gets its hot little hands on a car, it does everything in its considerable power to make it faster, meaner, wilder and, as a result, generally dumber. That’s not the case with the Brabus EQS. Yep, that’s right, Brabus is taking a crack at EVs, and the results are more than a little surprising.
According to a report published on Friday by The Drive, Brabus’ efforts at tweaking the EQS have resulted in it returning even more range than the standard, off-the-line EQS that any geek off the street can buy. It didn’t do that by adding more battery capacity. Instead, it managed this dark wizardry through the use of improved aerodynamics.
Brabus’ improvements add up to a claimed 7.2 percent reduction in the EQS’ already slippery .209 drag coefficient. This works out to an almost unheard of .194, which, for context, is about the same as GM’s EV1 and Volkswagen’s XL1, both of which were efficiency-at-all-costs types of vehicles. Even more interesting is that Brabus claims these improvements in aerodynamics are most effective at speeds between 62 and 87 miles per hour, and freeway driving is where EVs struggle the most with efficiency.
The aerodynamic boons come courtesy of Brabus’ more aggressive-looking body kit and a lowered suspension setting, as well as from more aerodynamic wheels – even if they are massive at 22-inches. Now, as we’ve learned from F1 cars, highly functional aerodynamics don’t always make for good looks, and while taste is subjective, the Brabus EQS isn’t exactly subtle; even if you give the company a pass on the 9,000 Brabus logos that it’s slapped onto the car.
We reached out to Brabus to get a ballpark idea of what these mods cost on the already not-cheap EQS but didn’t hear back in time for publication.