Brabus is one of the world's most famous aftermarket car tuners, a company synonymous with ludicrously overpowered turbocharged V8 and V12 German luxury cars. And the company's latest masterpiece is...
A three-cylinder shopping trolley??
The smart fortwo Brabus 10th Anniversary Edition has been announced in Germany and as the name suggests the vehicle is a celebration of a decade's work between smart and Brabus.
We were expecting the vehicle to be motivated by something truly special, perhaps a stroked V6 or a rev-happy supercharged four-cylinder engine, even a diesel engine! But what you get is a relatively timid 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbo petrol engine that bangs out 75kW/147Nm.
Even on a car of this size the engine is not exactly a hum-dinger, with vital statistics that are unlikely to raise the eyebrows of hot hatch fans: 8.9 seconds for the 0-100km/h dash and a top speed of 155km/h.
The 795kg two-seater micro car has not been given a price tag but we can say will be more expensive than a Toyota Yaris YRX.
So what does the smart fortwo Brabus 10th Anniversary Edition bring to the table over the regular Brabus-tweaked fortwo?
A special 'liquid silver' exterior colour with titanium coloured headlamps combine with matte grey alloy wheels to deliver a sports-premium aesthetic, while the interior gets hand-stitched leather seats, red accents throughout the cabin, satellite navigation and a build number plaque.
Regular features include a nifty ignition button on the gear lever, 10mm lower sports suspension, cruise control, heated seats, LED daytime running lights and 16-inch front, 17-inch rear alloys.
Brabus and smart's parent company, Mercedes-Benz, entered into a relationship in 2002 that has since sold more than 50,000 smart cars. After AMG, Brabus is the largest tuner of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
"10 years of smart-Brabus stands for more than 50,000 customised vehicles and lots of delighted customers," said smart boss Dr Annette Winkler.
"The fact that we already produced more than 10,000 smarts together last year shows that we still have lots of potential for further growth and high profitability with this creative and efficient team."
Bodo Buschmann, the CEO of the Brabus Group, said that there still more surprises to come from the relationship: "We still have lots of ideas how smart and Brabus can continue to grow together."
We wait with bated breath for the rev-happy supercharged four-cylinder smart Brabus car.
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