Brabus has also turned its attention to getting the most power possible from the Mercedes-Benz SLK sports car, which is quite a small car, and a good deal smaller than the flagship SL coupe. In standard form, the most powerful SLK has an AMG 5.4 liter V-8 which is quite big for this size of car.

Brabus has been able to squeeze a 6.1 liter V-8 into the SLK – it is based on the AMG 5.4 liter V-8. The engine is bored out and has a long stroke crankshaft to get 6.1 liters, and it will set you back about $38,000 – that's just for the engine, the bits that go with it and installation.

What do you get? A powerful engine producing 445 bhp at 6,000 rpm compared with 360 bhp – quite a lot of for a compact car like the SLK. And quick: Brabus quotes a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 seconds. Top speed is limited to 190 mph, compared with a limit of 155 mph for the standard car. I doubt it will do more than 190 mph anyway, but by putting a limiter on the engine management system Brabus implies it will go faster.

OR 193 BHP FROM A SMALL ENGINE

On the other hand, if you want an SLK, but want a small powerful engine, then you could buy the Brabus modified SLK 200 Kompressor. The engine is already supercharged, so with minor modifications power is increased from 163 to 193 bhp, and torque boosted to 192 lb ft – an increase of 10%. That's quite a modest gain, but thanks to the mid-range power, it will perform almost as well as the SLK with the standard 3.5 liter V-6 engine, which will probably use more gas.

Even further down the field, Brabus offers a special version of the smart Roadster, now going out of production, as it is not making money. The tuned version produces 100 bhp up from the 80 bhp of the standard car – and the extra power makes a big difference to the car.

There's no doubt that these firms know how to go for power! But how are tuners able to make such big changes these days? It all results from the low cost of modern computer controlled machine tools, which can make a batch of ten components at almost the same price per part as for 1,000.

Twenty years ago, even the racing car makers could hardly afford to make special crankshafts for a few engines – and if they could it would have taken six months to get them. Now, once the machine is programmed, it can work on its own and turn out a one-off in a matter of hours. This is one of the hidden ways in which these small companies are able to produce their own specialist components or even engines, and thus give enthusiastic drivers more performance.

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