The Mansory Gronos 4x4 is a G63 4x4² with 838bhp and a ridiculous bodykit

Fresh off the back of ruining (sorry, refining) the Ferrari 296 GTB, Mansory has unveiled the Gronos 4x4, its take on the new Mercedes-AMG G63 4x4².

We first saw the new portal axled G Squared back in June last year, and Mansory clearly decided the looks were far too sedate. Oh, and it sounds like the German tuner thought the standard 577bhp 4.0-litre biturbo V8 made the performance a little sedate too, but we’ll come on to that later.

First, the styling. Well, that’s if you can call it styling. Mansory has essentially glued on as much carbon fibre as it possibly can, with wider arches, wider doors, a rear spoiler, roof-mounted spotlights and something like 600 fake vents. We started counting them for real and quickly got bored.

We’re told the bonnet is carbon fibre too, as is the spare wheel cover, the mirror caps, the cover for the exhaust tips and even the little surrounds for the indicators. We’re almost surprised the 22in wheels aren’t carbon. Mansory itself describes the Gronos 4x4 as having a “powerful yet elegant appearance”. Hmm.

Just 10 of these things will be built and inside you get four seats with an extended centre console that splits the captain’s chairs in the back. There’s a whole load of quilted leather in there too (heck, it’s even on the floor), plus many Mansory logos and an engine start button that has been relocated to the headliner.

And yes, we must return to the performance stats. Mansory has upped the V8’s output to 838bhp and 738lb ft of torque. That means 0-62mph is dealt with in just 4.5 seconds. What do we reckon then – ruined or refined?