Brabus GLK V12 at Dubai

The 750bhp Brabus GLK V12

I hold my hand up and say I am a fan of quick SUVs. It may seem a bit of an oxymoron, but some SUVs – like the Porsche Cayenne Turbo – do a very good job of being all things. Fun sports car; load carrier; junk mover and just about anything else you want. If you can only justify running one car, to choose a car that makes a pretty good fist of driving like an M5, can accommodate the kids for a trip to school or across a continent and can turn in to a mini-Transit when needed is not a bad choice.

But there are limits. And I think the Mercedes GLK based Brabus GLK V12 is a step too far even for a fan of the genre like me. There’s no arguing its fast – 0-60mph in a tad over 4 seconds and 211mph. And the interior is reasonably pleasant in a  ’Mine’s better than yours’ kind of way.

But Brabus can’t do much about the intrinsically ugly GLK, despite adorning it with carbon fibre and go-faster bits. It’s still ugly. Not that we need to worry too much in the UK as Mercedes hasn’t deigned to inflict a RHD GLK on us. Brabus have also taken away the best bit of an SUV – the 4WD. This mammoth, 6.3 litre, twin-turbo monster puts its not inconsiderable 750bhp through a five speed auto ‘box to the rear wheels. Not a pleasing thought.

So what is the point of a €400,000 V12 Super-SUV that probably can’t manage to put much of its undoubtedly huge power down, and probably won’t go round corners? The Middle East. That’s the point. To sell this tarted and titivated monster to the Arab world to cruise around the roads of the Emirates. Which is why it will launch at the Dubai Motor Show this month.

But really. It’s pointless. The BMW X6 M (or indeed the Cayenne Turbo S) is almost as quick, has AWD and – if  the limiter were removed – would go a fair bit faster than its 155mph limit. At a quarter of the price. And it probably handles a lot better.

And if you want to see what €400k gets you, have a look at the Brabus GLK V12 Press Release.

By Cars UK