BRABUS BODO revealed as retro-inspired V12 supercar tribute

BRABUS has unveiled the new BODO, a low-slung V12 supercar that arrives wrapped in Carbon fiber, shaped around Active aerodynamics and powered by a 1,000HP twin-turbocharged V12. The German company says the car is intended as a tribute to founder Bodo Buschmann, but judging by the way the internet has reacted to it over the past 24 hours, plenty of people seem more interested in deciding whether it looks magnificent or completely unhinged. In fairness, it probably sits somewhere between the two, because the BRABUS BODO has the sort of presence that makes ordinary supercars suddenly appear strangely restrained. And in a market rapidly filling up with silent electric hypercars and overcomplicated hybrids, there is something rather refreshing about a giant rear-wheel-drive coupe powered by a twelve-cylinder engine with absolutely no interest in behaving modestly.

BRABUS BODO turns a V12 supercar into theatre

The BODO is limited to just 77 examples worldwide, referencing the year BRABUS was founded, and it represents the company’s first fully coachbuilt grand tourer of this scale. Although the proportions inevitably hint at Aston Martin Vanquish underneath, almost every visible surface has been redesigned, reshaped or replaced in exposed Carbon fiber.

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That bodywork was developed with a heavy focus on aerodynamic efficiency because BRABUS engineers targeted a 360km/h top speed from the beginning of the project. The result is a car with deployable aero elements, a rising rear spoiler that doubles as an air brake and enough vents, diffusers and channels to make most GT3 race cars feel slightly underdressed.

Online reaction has been predictably divided. Some enthusiasts have praised it for looking like an old-school coachbuilt grand tourer from the era when wealthy industrialists commissioned absurd V12 machines simply because they could, while others have compared it to a Batmobile designed by somebody with unrestricted access to forged carbon and energy drinks. Oddly enough, both arguments make sense when you look at it.

From the front, the BODO carries BRABUS’ signature aggression with huge RAM-AIR intakes, a tall grille with thirteen vertical slats and slim LED matrix headlights that look permanently irritated. The rear is even more dramatic, with stacked titanium exhaust outlets, seven-piece LED lighting signatures and a diffuser large enough to require its own postcode.

The proportions are what really define the car though. At more than five metres long and only 1.3 metres tall, the BODO has the stretched silhouette of a classic continent-crossing GT, albeit one wearing blacked-out Carbon fiber and 21-inch forged wheels that resemble expensive ninja weapons.

Inside, BRABUS has avoided the temptation to turn the cabin into a nightclub on wheels, which is probably wise because the exterior is already doing quite enough shouting. The interior instead leans into a more traditional ultra-luxury formula with black leather, exposed Carbon fiber trim, contrast stitching and a surprisingly restrained layout centred around long-distance comfort.

The company says the cabin was designed with driver focus and grand touring usability in mind, and there is a slightly old-fashioned honesty to that approach. This is not some stripped-out Nürburgring special pretending practicality is beneath it.

The BRABUS BODO still wants you to drive across Europe at deeply irresponsible speeds while carrying luggage.

Active aerodynamics and 1,000HP headline the flagship coupe

Power comes from a hand-built 5.2-litre twin-turbocharged V12 producing 1,000HP and 1,200Nm of torque, all sent exclusively to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. BRABUS claims the V12 supercar can hit 100km/h in 3.0 seconds, 200km/h in 8.5 seconds and 300km/h in 23.9 seconds before eventually running into its electronically limited 360km/h maximum.

Those figures are serious even by modern hypercar standards, particularly when you consider this remains a relatively large front-engined grand tourer rather than some featherweight mid-engined track special. BRABUS also claims the car weighs just 1,774kg dry thanks to extensive use of Carbon fiber throughout the structure and body panels.

There are multiple drive modes ranging from “Wet” through to “Sport+”, along with adaptive suspension developed with KW and a hydraulic lift system for surviving speed bumps without turning the front splitter into expensive road debris. Continental also developed bespoke SportContact 7 Force tyres specifically for the car, which feels appropriate given the BODO’s performance targets appear to exist somewhere beyond rational road use.

The emotional angle behind the project is arguably what separates it from many modern limited-run supercars. According to BRABUS CEO Constantin Buschmann, the idea for the BODO traces back nearly two decades and was inspired by a car his father had always wanted to create but never managed to realise before his death.

That story gives the BODO a sense of purpose beyond simply being another expensive horsepower competition. Beneath the exposed Carbon fiber, the titanium exhausts and the towering performance figures, there is still the feeling of a company building the sort of car it genuinely wanted to exist.

And frankly, that authenticity matters because without it the BODO would risk becoming just another oversized internet flex machine. Instead, it feels like BRABUS looked at an automotive industry increasingly obsessed with efficiency, electrification and software interfaces and decided to build a massive V12 grand tourer simply because somebody still should.