Brabus boosts Mercedes X-Class pick-up to 208bhp

While we’re used to Brabus tuning Mercedes’ fastest saloons and SUVs (and the occasional Smart), it has now turned its attention to the X-Class pick-up truck. Its enhancements apply styling and interior tweaks - and what the firm calls its ‘D4 PowerXtra performance upgrade’ - to the X 250 d.

The most obvious exterior change in the tranformation from Mercedes to Brabus X-Class are the wheels: in place of the regular 17- or 18-inch items are a set of twin seven-spoke rims, 20 inches in diameter. The wheels are complemented - a word used with caution - by a huge Brabus logo on the nose, a chunkier mount for the front number plate, and quad tailpipes.

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To add further menace to the Brabus X-Class, a pair of LED light bars, which engage on full beam, are fitted along the roof.

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Inside, the seats can be trimmed in almost any shade or style of leather that Brabus customers desire. The remainder of the cabin is standard to the X-Class, save for aluminium pedals and a set of branded stainless steel scuff plates.

Brabus has tinkered with the 250’s ECU to extract an extra 20bhp from the 2.3-litre turbodiesel engine. A total of 208bhp isn’t exactly enough to transform the X-Class into a Brabus Rocket - the 11.5-second 0-62mph time is 0.3 seconds faster than the X 250 d - but peak torque has risen to 510Nm. That’s a 60Nm improvement and one which will be most noticeable when towing or lifting heavy loads.

For those wishing for a little more power, Brabus will soon be working its magic on the soon-to-be-launched X 350d. With 254bhp and 550Nm as standard, it has the potential to be a seriously rapid workhorse.

See how the Mercedes X-Class performed against the Nissan Navara and Volkswagen Amarok in our pick-up group test…