Boat International – September 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY:

BRABUS

MARINE

Finnishcompanythathasestablished
itself asEurope’s fastest-growing
builder of good-looking, high-
performance, fun-to-own and
affordablepowerboats.
Readerswhoappreciateveryfastbutsubtly
modifiedmotorcarswillrecognisetheBrabus
nameasthefamoustuninghousethat,formore
than 40 years,has beenturningstandard
Mercedes-Benzcarsintoluxurious,street-legal
rocketships.Thefirmwasstartedin 1977 by
22-year-oldBodoBuschmannafterfailingtofind
anyoneskilledenoughtotuneandcustomisecars
tohisownexceptionallyhighstandards.
TheideaprovedsosuccessfulthatBrabus
receivedtheofficialbackingoftheDaimler
Group(ownerofMercedes-BenzandSmart)and
eventuallygrewintoamultinationalbrandwith
sitesaroundtheworld.
Beforehediedlastyear,theenergeticProfessor
Buschmannhadalsosetaboutapplyingthe
Brabusphilosophytoaboat.Theresultisthe
entirelyBond-worthy(andslightlyvillainous)
BrabusShadow 500 BlackOpsspecialedition.
“ProfessorBuschmannbeganworkingon
theoriginalBrabusboatin 2016 aftervisitingus
attheDusseldorfboatshow,”
explainsViitala.“Heboughtone
ofour37-footerstousearound
hisholidayhomeintheBalearic
Islandsbut,immediatelyafter
takingdelivery,hesettheBrabus
engineerstoworkchangingthe
dashboard,seatsandupholstery,
paintedthehullaspecialshade
ofsilverandfittedapair of
MercuryV8s.
“ProfessorBuschmannwasso
impressedwiththehandling
characteristicsoftheAxopar
hullandhowwellitrespondedto

beingfittedwithreally

powerfulenginesthatwe

madethemutualdecision

tolookintotheideaofa

collaborationasareal

businesscase.”

The joint venture,

BrabusMarine, would

produce arangeofsimilarboatsfeaturing

luxuryfinishesandhigh-performanceengines

thatcouldbedrivenalmostasiftheywere

waterbornesupercars.

“TheAxoparhulldesignisfamousforbeing

exceptionallystable,responsiveandsmooth,”says

Viitala,“andthat’swhatmakesittheidealbasis

foranultra-high-performanceboat.Brabus

Marinehasnowevolvedfrombeingaspecial

projectintoastand-alonebrand–and,becausea

lotofthedevelopmentcostsarecarriedbythe

regularAxoparrange,wehavebeenabletokeep

the priceof theBrabusmodels relatively

Despitethecar-style

cockpitandsportyfocus

oftheBrabusShadow500,

theseatingconfiguration

(right)canbeadjustedto

accommodateuptoeight

peopleonboard

60

09 2019 boatinternational.com