Brabus embarks on ultra-luxury real estate venture
Brabus, the German brand globally renowned for its high-performance automotive creations, has officially unveiled its most ambitious project yet – Brabus Island. The unveiling, held during a private, invitation-only event in Abu Dhabi, marks a significant milestone as the company steps into the realm of luxury real estate for the first time in its nearly 50-year history.
Situated in the exclusive Al Seef District of Al Raha Beach, Brabus Island occupies approximately 100,000 square metres of prime waterfront property. Just minutes from Zayed International Airport and the city centre of Abu Dhabi, and an hour's drive from Dubai, the Island is poised to become a prestigious landmark in the Emirate.
Described as a bold new expression of the brand's identity, Brabus Island embodies the essence of its design language through architecture, offering a living experience that mirrors the distinctiveness of its vehicles. This transition from automotive design to residential living is viewed as a natural evolution of the Brabus ethos.
Chief Executive Officer Constantin Buschmann described the venture as both a milestone and a logical step forward. He noted that while Brabus has long crafted vehicles that stir emotions and elevate lifestyles, Brabus Island now allows the company to create the lifestyle itself. Abu Dhabi, with its blend of opulence and innovation, provides the ideal setting for this expansion.
Architecturally, the development features sleek, minimalist silhouettes that are immediately recognisable as an extension of Brabus's progressive design DNA. The result is a striking visual addition to the Abu Dhabi skyline – one that asserts the brand's presence beyond the automotive world.
The residences on Brabus Island are fully customisable, using a modular design system inspired by the brand's made-to-order supercars.
Homeowners can choose from three curated aesthetic themes: Black and Bold, White Bliss, and Gray Haven — each offering a unique interpretation of the Brabus lifestyle. From there, clients are invited to personalise every detail to reflect their individual style, effectively creating a Brabus Masterpiece to live in.
This uncompromising commitment to bespoke luxury culminates in what the brand refers to as the Brabus 1-Second-Wow – an immediate, visceral sense of impact that characterises every element of the Island's design and experience.
With the introduction of Brabus Island, the brand has redefined the boundaries of its influence. No longer confined to vehicles, Brabus is now shaping entire environments, turning its signature aesthetic into a fully immersive, architectural reality.
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Malaysian Reserve
8 hours ago
- Malaysian Reserve
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The Star
11 hours ago
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New Straits Times
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- New Straits Times
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The industry worries that the rare-earths situation could cascade into the third massive supply chain shock in five years. A semiconductor shortage wiped away millions of cars from automakers' production plans, from roughly 2021 to 2023. Before that, the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 shut factories for weeks. Those crises prompted the industry to fortify supply chain strategies. Executives have prioritised backup supplies for key components and reexamined the use of just-in-time inventories, which save money but can leave them without stockpiles when a crisis unfurls. Judging from Eckard's inbound calls, though, "nobody has learned from the past," he said. This time, as the rare-earths bottleneck tightens, the industry has few good options, given the extent to which China dominates the market. The fate of automakers' assembly lines has been left to a small team of Chinese bureaucrats as it reviews hundreds of applications for export permits. Several European auto-supplier plants have already shut down, with more outages coming, said the region's auto supplier association, CLEPA. "Sooner or later, this will confront everyone," said CLEPA Secretary-General Benjamin Krieger. Cars today use rare-earths-based motors in dozens of components – side mirrors, stereo speakers, oil pumps, windshield wipers, and sensors for fuel leakage and braking sensors. China controls up to 70 per cent of global rare-earths mining, 85 per cent of refining capacity and about 90 per cent of rare-earths metal alloy and magnet production, consultancy AlixPartners said. The average electric vehicle uses about .5 kg (just over 1 pound) of rare earths elements, and a fossil-fuel car uses just half that, according to the International Energy Agency. China has clamped down before, including in a 2010 dispute with Japan, during which it curbed rare-earths exports. Japan had to find alternative suppliers, and by 2018, China accounted for only 58 per cent of its rare earth imports. "China has had a rare-earth card to play whenever they wanted to," said Mark Smith, CEO of mining company NioCorp, which is developing a rare-earth project in Nebraska scheduled to start production within three years. Across the industry, automakers have been trying to wean off China for rare-earth magnets, or even develop magnets that do not need those elements. But most efforts are years away from the scale needed. "It's really about identifying ... and finding alternative solutions" outside China, Joseph Palmieri, head of supply chain management at supplier Aptiv, said at a conference in Detroit last week. Automakers including General Motors and BMW and major suppliers such as ZF and BorgWarner are working on motors with low-to-zero rare-earth content, but few have managed to scale production enough to cut costs. 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England-based Warwick Acoustics has developed rare-earth-free speakers expected to appear in a luxury car later this year. CEO Mike Grant said the company has been in talks with another dozen automakers, although the speakers are not expected to be available in mainstream models for about five years. As auto companies scout longer-term solutions, they are left scrambling to avert imminent factory shutdowns. Automakers must figure out which of their suppliers – and smaller ones a few links up the supply chain – need export permits. Mercedes-Benz, for example, is talking to suppliers about building rare-earth stockpiles. Analysts said the constraints could force automakers to make cars without certain parts and park them until they become available, as GM and others did during the semiconductor crisis. Automakers' reliance on China does not end with rare earth elements. A 2024 European Commission report said China controls more than 50 per cent of global supply of 19 key raw materials, including manganese, graphite and aluminum. Andy Leyland, co-founder of supply chain specialist SC Insights, said any of those elements could be used as leverage by China. "This just is a warning shot," he said.
