Can you make an eco car faster? Brabus, a high-performance aftermarket Mercedes tuning company, can.

Despite the Euro VI standards not going into effect until 2014, the world’s first tuned car to meet the new emission standards comes with the Brabus ECO PowerXtra D6S performance kit. The new Mercedes S350 BlueTEC delivers an additional 55hp of power and a peak torque of 690Nm. In emission testing required for certification, the S350 BlueTEC with kit remained below the limits by 30 percent. Special versions of the kit are also available for all four body styles of the Mercedes E350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY model and for the new CLS 350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY.

The kit's extent of the performance increase is dependent on the selected shift mode of the automatic transmission. In “Eco” mode the maximum power output of the engine remains unchanged but peak torque jumps from standard 620Nm to 690Nm between 1,600 and 2,400rpm. Upon switching to “Manual” or “Sport” mode the increase in torque is accompanied by an increase in maximum power output from 258hp to 313hp at a low 3,600rpm.

In this configuration the tuned S350 sprints from rest to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 6.5 seconds, half a second faster than the production car. Top speed is limited electronically to 250km/h. For the Mercedes E350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY and for the new CLS 350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY model, the maximum power output for these models is increased to 313hp and torque grows to 690Nm.

The kit also includes custom-tailored Brabus sport exhaust system with four polished tailpipes. The fully stainless-steel exhaust systems lend the common-rail engine a more powerful exhaust note and further optimize power yield. This kit is available at AutoVox Pte Ltd, sole importer for Brabus in Singapore.