Brabus 800 Mercedes-AMG E 63 S 4MATIC+ (W213/S213) Tuning Guide 2026 — Body Kits, Wheels & Performance

The Mercedes-AMG E 63 S 4MATIC+ (W213 sedan / S213 estate, 2017–2023) is the quickest super-saloon Affalterbach has ever built on the MRA architecture, and with Brabus's 800 Power XTra package bolted to its 4.0-litre M177 biturbo V8 it becomes something altogether more serious: an 800-horsepower four-door that out-sprints a Tesla Model S Plaid to 100 km/h and still fits a family of four and a Labrador. The factory car delivers 612 hp and 850 Nm; Brabus lifts that to a full 800 hp and 1000 Nm with bespoke Garrett turbos, a re-mapped ECU and TCU, a sport-catalyst downpipe system and a reinforced fuel circuit. This complete guide covers every meaningful upgrade path available for the W213/S213 E 63 S — body kits, forged wheels, performance stages and interior re-trims — and explains which ones are worth the "Brabus tax" and which aren't.

E 63 S 4MATIC+ — Key Specifications

Platform Overview — Mercedes MRA, not CLAR

The E 63 S W213/S213 sits on Mercedes-Benz's MRA (Modular Rear-Architecture) platform — the rear-drive-biased modular structure shared with the C-Class W205, S-Class W222, CLS C257, GLC X253 and GLE W167. A common mistake among tuning clients is to conflate this with BMW's CLAR architecture; the two are unrelated, and Mercedes-specific reinforcement kits, subframe braces and coilover geometries are required. The W213's long wheelbase (2939 mm), air-suspension rear axle on most markets, and 4MATIC+ fully variable torque distribution make it an exceptionally stable 800hp platform — far more composed under power than the older W212 E 63 AMG ever was. The MCT 9G transmission uses a wet multi-plate launch clutch in first gear instead of a torque converter, which is critical to understand when tuning: the clutch pack is the power-limiting component at Stage 2+ levels, and Brabus specifically reinforces it as part of the 800 package.

Body Kits — Brabus, Renntech, Carlsson, Hofele

Brabus PowerXtra 800 Body Package. The headline aesthetic programme for the W213 E 63 S. Brabus's full kit includes a carbon-fibre front spoiler with an integrated lower splitter, re-contoured side skirt extensions with aero blades, a subtle deck-lid Gurney flap, a diffuser replacement that houses a quad-exit titanium exhaust, and carbon-fibre mirror caps. The kit is TÜV-certified in Germany, ECE-marked for EU-wide registration, and engineered specifically to preserve the factory's aerodynamic balance at 300+ km/h. Every piece is serialised and numbered. Installation is bolted to factory mounting points — no cutting, no adhesive tape, no returning-to-stock nightmares. Typical full kit runs £14,000–18,000 installed, depending on carbon specification and colour-match paintwork.

Renntech R Carbon Package. Florida-based Renntech has been modifying AMGs since the '80s and their W213 E 63 S carbon programme is notably more aggressive than Brabus: a reshaped front bumper with integrated dive planes, a vented bonnet with carbon louvres, a ducktail-style bootlid spoiler (a nod to the 190E Cosworth heritage), and a rear diffuser that's noticeably larger than the Brabus unit. Renntech body work is generally priced 30–40% below the equivalent Brabus kit and is the preferred choice for owners who plan to track the car. Full carbon package runs roughly £9,000–12,000 shipped from Miami.

Carlsson CK63. Carlsson's E 63 S programme is the most conservative of the three tier-one options — a full-width front lip spoiler, discrete side sill accents and a small rear boot spoiler, all in exposed carbon or colour-matched paint. Carlsson is the pick for owners who want measurable aero improvement without announcing the upgrade visually. The kit includes Carlsson's own 20" or 21" 1/16 RS monoblock wheel design as an option.

Hofele SR 63. German coachbuilder Hofele offers a widebody-adjacent approach with flared fender extensions, a more pronounced front apron and an optional Hofele-signature rear bumper with vertically stacked exhaust outlets. Hofele is best for the exhibitionist end of the market — visually the loudest of the four programmes listed here.

Wheels — Brabus Monoblock Z, HRE, Vossen, ANRKY

Factory wheels are 20" on the E 63 S. Tuners almost universally go up to 21 or 22 inches, and a forged construction is non-negotiable at the torque levels a Brabus 800 produces — cast wheels crack under hard launches.

Brabus Monoblock Z. The definitive 800-package wheel. Available in 21 × 9.0J ET40 front / 21 × 10.5J ET45 rear with 265/35 R21 front and 295/30 R21 rear Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, or stepped up to 22 × 9.0J / 22 × 10.5J with 265/30 R22 and 305/25 R22 rubber. Monoblock Y (five twin-spoke) and Monoblock S (ten-spoke) are alternative Brabus patterns in the same diameter and width range. All three are forged from a single aluminium billet and available in Platinum, satin black, gloss black or a two-tone diamond-turned finish.

HRE P201. American-forged three-piece in the P2 series. 21" or 22" spec in the same 9.0/10.5 widths as the Brabus set. HRE is the pick for owners who want complete colour and finish customisation beyond what Brabus offers.

Vossen HF-3. Hybrid-forged flow-form wheel, a step below true billet-forged but substantially cheaper. Best for the owner who wants the correct 21/22" aesthetic but doesn't plan to run the car above Stage 1.

ANRKY S2-X3. Boutique California forged brand with a distinct concave-spoke design that flatters the E 63's long front overhang. Premium pricing and a 12–16-week lead time but visually unique at car meets.

Whichever pattern you choose, specify 21 or 22 inches and a genuine forged construction — those two rules protect both the car and the wheel itself.

Performance — Brabus 800, Renntech, Posaidon, Akrapovic

Brabus 800 Power XTra (flagship). The full programme: new Brabus-specification Garrett turbochargers with larger compressor wheels, Brabus high-flow intercooler upgrade, sport catalyst downpipes, reinforced fuel pump and injectors, bespoke Brabus ECU map, re-calibrated TCU for faster shifts with reinforced MCT clutch pack, and the titanium Brabus exhaust with active valves. End result: 800 hp, 1000 Nm, 0–100 km/h in approximately 2.9 seconds, top speed lifted past 320 km/h. The whole turnkey package including installation at Bottrop runs £40,000–55,000 depending on exhaust and body options chosen. Add body kit, wheels and interior and the complete car premium over a donor E 63 S is £80,000–130,000.

Renntech Stage 1 (612 → 700 hp). An ECU and TCU flash plus a carbon cold-air intake raises the M177 to around 700 hp and 900 Nm. Retains factory turbos, intercooler and exhaust hardware. Runs roughly £4,500 turnkey. Best value-for-power upgrade available on the platform.

Renntech Stage 2 (612 → 750 hp). Stage 1 plus upgraded downpipes with 200-cell sport cats, an upgraded intercooler and a revised tune. Around 750 hp and 950 Nm at roughly £9,000 all-in. Retains stock turbos — which is why Brabus's 800 hp figure requires its turbo swap.

Posaidon RS 830+. German specialist who builds a twin-turbo upgrade competitive with Brabus at lower cost. Claims up to 830 hp on race fuel. Smaller brand recognition than Brabus but respected in hard-core AMG circles.

GAD Motors. German tuner with a reputation for billet turbo upgrades and extreme-power builds (900+ hp on methanol or E85). Only relevant if you're chasing roll-race numbers.

Exhausts. Outside of the Brabus kit, the Akrapovic Evolution titanium system with carbon tips is the benchmark — lighter than the Brabus system, similar sound character, typically £7,000–8,500. Capristo offers a valved system with remote control and is popular with owners who want variable volume on demand. Both retain factory-style tips and fit the standard rear bumper.

Intake. Eventuri carbon airbox is the gold standard — a full carbon-fibre sealed-airbox conversion that genuinely increases intake volume and drops intake temperature. Around £2,200. RaceChip pedal tuners are irrelevant on a car of this calibre and should be avoided.

Suspension. If you're tracking the car, replace the factory AMG Ride Control adaptive dampers with KW V3 coilovers. You lose adjustable ride modes but gain body control that the factory setup — designed for real-world tarmac compliance — simply can't match.

Interior — Brabus, Carlex, Vilner

The factory E 63 S cabin is already excellent, so interior work is usually cosmetic: Brabus's Fine Leather programme offers full re-trim in any colour with diamond quilting, contrast stitching, Brabus logo embroidery on the headrests and optional alcantara on the headliner, A-pillars and door inserts. Expect £15,000–25,000 for a complete Brabus re-trim at Bottrop. Carlex Design in Poland offers comparable work at roughly 40% less cost and is the standard choice for UK, German and Middle Eastern client builds. Vilner in Bulgaria is the more artistic option — bespoke pattern design, hand-perforated leather and unusual material pairings. Carbon-fibre interior trim swaps (dashboard panels, centre console, steering wheel) are available from both Brabus and Renntech catalogues.

Before & After: A Real Brabus 800 E 63 Wagon Build

Month 1: a European client places a deposit on a pre-owned 2020 E 63 S Estate (S213) in obsidian black at £105,000 — a single-owner, 18,000-mile car with full Mercedes service history. Month 2: the Brabus 800 Power XTra turbo kit, downpipes, intercooler and reinforced fuel system are ordered direct from Bottrop. Month 3: the car is shipped to Brabus for installation and tune — a one-week build window involving engine removal, turbo swap, fuel-system reinforcement and ECU/TCU calibration, coming to £45,000 in labour and parts. Month 4: the Brabus carbon front spoiler and Monoblock Z 21" satin forged wheels in 9.0/10.5J are fitted — £14,000 all-in including tyres and TPMS calibration. Month 5: Carlex Design re-trims the front sport seats with diamond stitching in cognac leather with obsidian contrast piping, plus headliner and A-pillar alcantara — £8,000 at their Warsaw workshop. Month 6: an Akrapovic Evolution slip-on replaces the Brabus rear silencer for lighter weight and a sharper crackle on overrun, the whole body is wrapped in XPEL Ultimate Plus PPF and finished with a nine-year ceramic coating — £12,000. Final result after six months and roughly £184,000 all-in: an 800 hp, 1000 Nm 4MATIC+ estate with a 0–100 km/h time of 2.9 seconds that out-accelerates a Tesla Model S Plaid off the line, carries two children, a Labrador and a full load of luggage in near-silence on the motorway, and turns every head in any car park it stops in. The client reports his only regret is not ordering the wagon in a non-black colour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the M177 V8 reliable at 800 hp long-term?

With Brabus's complete package — which includes the fuel-system reinforcement, reinforced MCT clutch pack, intercooler upgrade, and a tune calibrated for 98-octane road use rather than dyno-day peak numbers — the answer is yes, provided service intervals are shortened to 7,500 km with fully synthetic 0W-40 AMG-spec oil and the car is driven sympathetically from cold. Brabus backs this up with its own two-year or balance-of-manufacturer-warranty cover on the modified driveline. The failure mode at higher states of tune (900+ hp) is typically the wet-clutch pack in first gear rather than the engine itself; the Brabus 800 sits deliberately below that threshold. M177 engines with Brabus 800 specification routinely clear 100,000 km without internal work when maintained correctly.

Sedan (W213) or Estate (S213) — which is better for a Brabus 800 build?

Mechanically identical. The S213 wagon weighs approximately 50 kg more than the W213 sedan, which is imperceptible at 800 hp, and the estate's longer rear overhang gives a subtle stability advantage at autobahn speeds above 280 km/h. Collectors increasingly prefer the S213 estate — AMG wagons have outsold sedans in appreciation terms over the last three generations (look at W124, W210, W211 price trajectories) and the S213 is expected to follow the same curve. The estate is rarer in most markets, which matters for resale. From a pure ownership-joy standpoint the wagon is the more interesting build — a 2.9-second 4MATIC+ luggage-carrier is an irresistible piece of mechanical absurdity.

Does Drift Mode still work after the Brabus 800 tune?

Yes. Brabus's TCU recalibration preserves the 4MATIC+ rear-biased torque-distribution logic that enables Drift Mode, and the mode remains accessible via the factory steering-wheel controls in Race setting with ESP off. In fact, with 1000 Nm available from 2250 rpm the rear axle saturates more aggressively than in the factory car, so drift behaviour is both easier to initiate and more progressive to hold — assuming an appropriately large and grippy surface. We strongly recommend private circuit use only; Drift Mode is not a public-road feature on an 800 hp car.

How does the MY2020+ facelift affect tuning?

The 2020 facelift brought the updated MBUX infotainment system, new steering wheel with touch controls, revised exterior trim and slightly updated air suspension calibration. Mechanically the M177 engine, MCT 9G gearbox and 4MATIC+ drivetrain are carried over unchanged, so every Brabus, Renntech and Posaidon performance package is fully compatible with both pre-facelift (2017–2019) and post-facelift (2020–2023) cars. The only meaningful difference for tuning clients is that facelift cars have a marginally updated ECU software version, which may require an additional 30–60 minutes of calibration time. Body-kit fitment differs between pre- and post-facelift bumpers — always confirm model year when ordering Brabus, Renntech or Carlsson body components.