BRABUS SHADOW 500 BLACK OPS

It’s zero nine hundred at our rendezvous point of a nondescript pontoon in the depths of Poole Harbour. The skies are clear but the wind is building from the east, the tide streaming from the west. Our mission – which we have chosen to accept – is to take Brabus Shadow 500 Black Ops hull #00 from this location to an undisclosed one in Southampton. Actually, it’s not undisclosed, it’s the River Hamble for the British Motor Yacht Show but it’s difficult not to get caught up in the military jargon when the boat you’re about to test is called ‘Black Ops’. That said, if you weren’t aware that the Shadow 500 is the result of a partnership between German car tuner Brabus and Axopar you could easily mistake the boat for something with a more sinister purpose.

This Black Ops version is a limited edition restricted to just 28 boats and sports the brooding hand-painted gunmetal grey paint scheme