Brabus Bodo Cabriolet combines a 735 kW V12 with bespoke carbon-fibre coachwork

Aston Martin provides the technical foundation

The Bodo Cabriolet uses the Aston Martin Vanquish Volante as its technical starting point, but there is little visual resemblance between the two. The Vanquish's bonded aluminium structure and core mechanical package provide the foundation, around which Brabus has created an entirely new coachbuilt carbon-fibre body using the pre-preg process.

The Bodo Cabriolet measures 5,062 mm long, 2,027 mm wide and just 1,305 mm tall. By comparison, the European-specification Vanquish Volante is 4,855 mm long and 1,295 mm high. The Brabus body is therefore considerably longer, giving the car the classic GT proportions of a long bonnet and low-set tail without implying that the underlying wheelbase has necessarily been extended.

The nose, flanks and rear end follow Brabus's own design language. A vertically slatted grille, a new lighting signature and bespoke carbon-fibre aerodynamic elements alter the car so comprehensively that its Aston Martin origins are not immediately obvious from the outside.

The Bodo Cabriolet also gets a specially developed two-tone black-and-grey Jacquard soft top. An inverted “77” motif is woven directly into the fabric as a reference to 1977, the year Bodo Buschmann founded Brabus. The same number defines the production run: the Cabriolet will be built as a separate series limited to 77 cars worldwide.

The 5.2-litre V12 produces 735 kW and 1,200 Nm

The most important part of the Vanquish hardware remains beneath the long bonnet. In the Bodo Cabriolet, the 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 develops 735 kW at 6,400 rpm and an electronically limited 1,200 Nm between 2,900 and 5,000 rpm.

An eight-speed torque-converter automatic sends all of that output to the rear wheels. The electronically controlled differential can provide up to 100% locking, helping the rear tyres put the V12's torque onto the road.

The comparison with the Vanquish Volante shows how extensively the engine has been reworked. Aston Martin's 5.2-litre V12 produces 614 kW and 1,000 Nm, so the Brabus adds 121 kW and 200 Nm.

The Bodo Cabriolet accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.0 seconds, reaches 200 km/h in 8.5 seconds and 300 km/h in 23.9 seconds. Its top speed is electronically limited to 360 km/h. The Vanquish Volante, by comparison, takes 3.4 seconds to reach 100 km/h and has a top speed of 345 km/h.

Those figures put the Bodo among the fastest open-top GTs on sale, but its technical recipe is notably different from that of many modern hybrid rivals. The engine sits up front, all power goes to the rear wheels and there are no electric motors contributing to either total output or launch performance.

The active rear spoiler doubles as an air brake

A 360 km/h top speed demands more from the aerodynamics than visual drama alone. Brabus equips the car with a carbon-fibre front splitter and an electrically adjustable carbon-fibre rear spoiler.

As speed rises, the rear spoiler deploys in several stages to increase downforce over the rear axle. Under heavy braking above 140 km/h, it pivots into a near-vertical position and functions as an air brake, increasing drag to support deceleration.

The chassis uses double wishbones at the front and a multi-link arrangement at the rear. Electronically adaptive dampers work with five drive modes: GT, Sport, Sport+, Wet and Individual.

A lift system can raise both axles by around 25 mm when extra ground clearance is needed. Once the car reaches 45 km/h, the suspension automatically returns to its normal ride height.

The 22-inch forged Brabus Monoblock Z-GT “Platinum Edition” wheels are fitted with Pirelli P Zero tyres developed specifically for the Bodo Cabriolet. The car uses 285/30 ZR 22 tyres at the front and 335/25 ZR 22s at the rear.

Stopping power comes from internally ventilated and perforated carbon-ceramic composite discs, clamped by six-piston fixed calipers at the front and four-piston units at the rear.

Ferrari is fractionally quicker off the line, Brabus has the higher quoted top speed

The Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider provides an interesting European reference point for the Bodo Cabriolet. Ferrari's naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 produces 610 kW and sends the car from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.95 seconds. Ferrari quotes a top speed of more than 340 km/h.

On the manufacturers' claimed figures, that makes the Ferrari fractionally quicker from rest, while the Brabus counters with greater power, substantially more torque and a higher quoted top speed of 360 km/h.

The more important distinction, however, lies in what the two cars actually are. Ferrari develops the 12Cilindri Spider as a complete production model, whereas the Bodo is a limited-run coachbuilt car created around the technical foundations of an existing high-end GT.

That distinction is what makes the Bodo Cabriolet significant. Brabus is no longer simply trying to build a more powerful version of a donor car. It gives the car its own body, lighting signature, aerodynamic package and interior, then sells the finished product under a dedicated model name.

In doing so, Brabus is moving closer to the world of low-volume coachbuilders, where customers are buying rarity and individuality alongside outright performance.

Price remains undisclosed

Brabus has not published a fixed European price for the Bodo Cabriolet. In Germany, the car is currently offered on a price-on-request basis.

That matters because the final cost is likely to depend heavily on the customer's chosen trim and bespoke specification. With production limited to 77 cars and extensive hand-built content, the Bodo sits in a far more exclusive niche than the standard Vanquish Volante.

For Brabus, then, the Bodo Cabriolet matters for more than its 735 kW output or 360 km/h top speed. It shows a Bottrop company increasingly intent on evolving from a famous tuner into a coachbuilder with models of its own. In the global luxury-car market, that shift may ultimately prove more important than another headline power figure.