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Mercedes tuner Brabus has tweaked the V8 diesel ML and GL

Only a few months after Mercedes made its excellent 4.0-litre V8 diesel engine available to UK buyers in the ML and GL off-roaders, tuner Brabus has announced its performance upgrades for Stuttgart's eight-pot diesel 4x4s.

In factory tune, Mercedes' mighty V8 turbodiesel motor produces 302bhp at 3600rpm and 516lb ft at 2200rpm. At your request, Brabus will now supply an ECU which makes the motor produce 345bhp at 3800rpm, and an even more substantial 590lb ft of torque. That's a fully-warranted upgrade too - like all of Brabus's tweaks, it's guaranteed for three years and 60,000 miles – and it's available through any authorised UK Brabus dealer.

After the 30-minute modification, an ML420 CDI will hit 62mph from a standstill in 6.0sec (half a second quicker than the standard car) and will go on to 152mph. The GL420 CDI's 62mph sprint also comes down by five-tenths of a second, to 7.1sec, and its top speed rises to 149mph.

Interestingly, Brabus also claims that neither tune makes your 4x4 Benz any more thirsty, and that both are Euro4 emissions compliant and work with exhaust particulate traps.

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