Pictures of the new Smart #1 by Brabus have leaked onto the internet.
The Smart #1 electric SUV was only revealed a few months ago, but a hot version is already close to production. The Smart Brabus #1 has been revealed on Chinese social media app WeChat, after a prototype was spied earlier this year.
Compared to the standard car, the Brabus-tuned version stands out with additional vents above the front Smart badge – which has now been painted matte black – and more defined lower air intakes. There are red accents in the grille and the skirts, tying in with the red roof, boot spoiler and brake calipers.
The spoiler itself is much bigger than the standard car, and vented too. Likewise, the alloy wheels appear to be larger. Inside, there’s red stitching, ambient lighting and seat inserts, plus Brabus badging on the steering wheel.
Otherwise, the interior looks almost unchanged from the standard #1, so the Brabus version will also benefit from a widescreen 9.2-inch driver’s display and a 12.8-inch central touchscreen. We know that the standard car will boast adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, blind-spot monitoring and self-parking capability, so it’s almost certain that the range-topping Brabus will get all these features too.
Rumours from China suggest that the Smart Brabus #1 will pack almost 300kW, courtesy of an extra electric motor. That’s far more than the 220kW you get in the bigger and heavier Volkswagen ID.4 GTX. The Brabus will have a motor on each axle, giving it all-wheel drive. The standard car’s 66kWh battery is likely to remain, although the Brabus won’t offer the same 440km range.
We understand that the standard car will be available from December 2022, and we expect it to start from around $55,000 in Europe, but the Brabus fettled Smart #1, and indeed the normal itself are not coming to Australia.
Ben Custard