Oops: The Brabus Supercar Is Real, And It Just Leaked In The Dumbest Way

Posting to the Reddit channel r/whatisthiscar, an apparent employee of one of Brabus' suppliers snapped these photos and requested the sleuths of the internet to identify it, before learning that it was a heretofore unreleased model – and deleting the photos (and his account) in an attempt to seal the leak. But alas, it was too late.

How Dumb Can You Be?

The original poster is apparently an employee of one of the paint shops that Brabus uses, and they are used to seeing the high-dollar Mercedes builds go in and out of the shop. This one, however, is notably bereft of any three-pointed stars or AMG badges, with only a subtle "77" on the rear decklid to go off of. After posting the pictures, Redditors were quick to point out that so far, Brabus had only teased its new supercar on social media, with shadowy photos that revealed very little of the car's design.

Thanks to the OP, there's much less mystery to the 77's new design. Although it shares its triangular headlights with the aforementioned AMG SL, the rest of the front fascia looks very different, with a flatter hood that's sculpted down in the middle, a motif that ditches the Mercedes' twin power bulges. The car in the photos is missing its front bumper – presumably in preparation for painting – but the car's profile is still very distinct. The roofline and side window openings almost look Bentley-like in their execution, with a dash of Aston Martin thrown in on the tapering, aerodynamic tail. Eight individual lighting elements show up on the rear end, while the vertically stacked quad exhaust is sure to leave an impression on the motorists stuck in the Brabus 77's wake.

An Homage To The Company's Founding

The name of the new supercar comes from the year that Brabus incorporated in West Germany by Bodo Buschmann and Klaus Brackmann. Buschmann wanted to modify his cars but wasn't finding much success with the tuners that already existed, so he and Brackmann established the bold automotive personality the customization house is now known for. But in addition to the lowered, modified, 1,000-horsepower Mercedes products Brabus is famous for, the company also does factory-correct restorations of classic Mercedes, including the 280 SE Cabriolet, 300 SL roadster, and SL "Pagoda."

Brabus 77 Leak Rear Quarter

After nearly 50 years, the Bodo 77 – which is named after the founder – will take the tuning company into a new realm, applying its own unique coachwork rather than modifying an existing product. It's not clear if the Bodo will ride on an existing chassis or use a bespoke platform of its own. Some outlets report that it will be based on the V12-powered Aston Martin Vanquish, while others claim a Mercedes-AMG twin-turbocharged V8 lies under the sculpted hood.

Given how close to production the leaked car looks, we don't think we'll have to wait too long to find out more.