The founder and boss of Brabus has died

Today the car world is mourning the unfortunate passing of Brabus founder and CEO Bodo Buschmann. The man responsible for some of the maddest Mercedes' on the planet died yesterday aged 62 following a short illness, the company confirmed in a statement.

Having founded Brabus in 1977, Bodo turned his insatiable appetite for cars from hobby into a world-renowned business. He spent the last four decades modifying Mercs in a way that put tuning on the map.

He dedicated his life to adding ‘refinement’ to Mercedes-Benz's cars. This ‘refinement’ came in different ways. Partly through more luxury and increased technology, but mostly via bludgeoning power and performance. He worked tirelessly to roll out anvil after anvil, producing enough twistys to spin planets in the wrong direction. Take for example the Brabus 900 Rocket: a luxo sled of speed with 888bhp and 1,106 lb-ft of torque capable of 230mph. A figure that slotted it straight into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Bodo’s motto of “never work for money - work for passion!” saw him labour for long hours perfecting his craft. So not only did he spruce up modern Benzes, but also the company's back catalogue, via Brabus's lust-worthy 'Classic' programme. Around 4,000 man hours go into each Classic model in order to completely rejuvenate them. So they're new, but still old, if you know what we mean. New-old.

Constantin Buschmann, Bodo’s son who as CMO was previously responsible for Marketing and Sales on the executive board, has taken over all of his father's responsibilities with immediate effect, to make sure Bodo's legacy lives on.

Rest in peace, Bodo.