City car specialist Smart – owned by Mercedes-Benz and China’s Geely – and famed Mercedes tuner Brabus have teamed up again to produce a 315kW, all-wheel-drive electric SUV.
City car specialist Smart – now co-owned by Germany’s Mercedes-Benz and China’s Geely – and Mercedes tuner Brabus have joined forces to produce a high-performance version of the new Smart #1 electric SUV.
Based on the standard Smart #1 electric car unveiled in April, the Smart #1 Brabus reportedly offers more power, a sportier exterior and a better-equipped interior than the small SUV it is based on.
According to website CarNewsChina – reporting on information from Chinese media – the Smart #1 Brabus is expected to be powered by two electric motors producing 315kW/543Nm combined – combining the existing 200kW/343Nm rear motor with a new 115kW/200Nm motor up front.
The electric all-wheel-drive Smart #1 Brabus is reportedly capable of accelerating from zero to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds.
The Smart #1 Brabus is fitted with a unique front bumper and ducted bonnet, designed to channel more air towards the car’s front motor to keep it cool.
Additional exterior tweaks include a new-look rear bumper, 19-inch alloy wheels, side skirts and door mirrors, while the Smart #1 Brabus’ accents have been painted bright red in contrast to the matte grey body.
The red and grey theme continues inside the cabin, as an aluminium-finish dashboard and steering wheel buttons are paired with red LED lights, seat belts and contrast stitching.
While the Smart #1’s performance variant doesn’t carry any Brabus badges on the outside, its interior features a Brabus “B” logo on the seat headrests plus the company’s name on the centre steering wheel spoke.
A centre-mounted 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen and 9.2-inch digital instrument cluster are carried across from the Smart #1 to the Brabus edition.
Details of the Smart #1 Brabus’ outputs and driving range are due to be confirmed on August 26.
It is expected the Brabus electric SUV’s driving range will be less than the standard Smart #1’s estimated claim of between 420km and 440km.
Smart and Brabus have worked together for more than 15 years, producing sportier versions of the Smart ForTwo two-door, ForFour four-door and Roadster models since the late 2000s.
Previously owned wholly by Mercedes-Benz, Chinese car maker Geely purchased a 50 per cent stake in Smart in 2019, with the remaining share of ownership retained by Mercedes-Benz.
Smart arrived in Australia in 2004, selling models such as the ForTwo, ForFour and Roadster to local customers until it exited the market in 2015.
In May 2021, a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson told Drive it had no plans to reintroduce Smart to Australia.
“We are always open-minded and evaluate each new vehicle that becomes available to us, but at this stage there is nothing new to announce about the Smart brand,” the spokesperson said.
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