It was two years ago this month that Mercedes introduced the Maybach GLS. The luxury marquee is now looking toward the future with electric vehicles, but tuners like Brabus will continue to have fun before the transition happens. The aftermarket company has cranked out another high-powered vehicle called the Brabus 800, which turns the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 4Matic into a performance SUV.

The GLS gets a thorough visual makeover with a new, aerodynamically designed carbon-fibre body kit that enhances its appearance and performance. There is a new front splitter and front air intake trim, which gives the SUV a new face and reduces front-end lift at high speeds. Brabus also replaced the shiny chrome with Shadow Grey, which matches the black exterior finish. At the rear, Brabus upgraded the lower valance to include a new centre diffuser and cutouts for the Brabus sport exhaust system tailpipes.

Brabus also tweaks the powertrain, upping the stock 557 bhp (410 kilowatts) and 538 pound-feet (730 Newton-metres) of torque to 800 bhp (588 kW) and 701 lb-ft (950 Nm) of torque. That’s a hearty increase that can catapult the GLS to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometres per hour) in just 4.5 seconds. That’s not supercar quick, but still impressive for the portly machine. A pair of Brabus turbochargers help increase the output on the 4.0-litre V8. Brabus electronically limits the top speed to 186 mph (300 kph).

The tuner also replaces the wheels with its own Monoblock M Platinum Edition 24-inch alloy ones. They sit underneath carbon-fibre wing/fender flares and fill out the wheel arches thanks to its re-calibrated Airmatic air suspension system. Brabus lowers the SUV by about 1 inch (25 millimetres). There is also an endless choice of interior options that Brabus can customise to the customer’s liking, though Brabus does finish the interior trim and switches in Shadow Gray, just like with the exterior.