Brabus makes a 500bhp hybrid

Brabus - the tuner of 700bhp G63 6x6 fame - appears to have gone soft. After years of extracting loony power outputs from V8 and V12 AMGs, it's decided to turn its attention to hybrids.

Those with a penchant for 800bhp E-Classes can relax, though; everyone's favourite Merc modifier has turned its attention to just one hybrid, and it's done so in the only way it knows how: more power.

Yep. Meet the B50 Hybrid, a Brabussed version of the Mercedes S500 Plug-in Hybrid.

Its 3-litre V6 turbo engine has gained 51bhp and 52lb ft of torque, while its electric motor has remained untouched. These, then, are modest gains in the world of Brabus, but still enough to make this a 493bhp, 656lb ft car with the ability to charge up from the mains and stroll silently through cities.

At 4.9secs, the 0-62mph sprint has dipped 0.3secs, though the top speed remains electronically pegged at 155mph thanks to the intricacies of that petrol-electric setup.

The result, we're told, is an "even more superior driving sensation" than the standard S500 hybrid, which ought to please chauffeurs the world over. Quite how the Merc's claimed 100mpg and 65g/km are affected has not been revealed, but away from the combined cycle dreamworld, we'd expect real world economy to fall as subtly as those power figures have climbed.

On top of mechanical tweaks, the B50 also hosts a variety of familiar Brabus styling flourishes: you can cram alloys of up to 22 inches into the arches, while assorted aerodynamic addenda has been honed in actual wind tunnels.

"Merc has future-proofed the world's best car," said we of the S500 PHEV. It appears Brabus has made the first step towards future-proofing loony tuned versions of it, too.