Fri 27 Feb 2009
The Smart fortwo Brabus is the flagship of the fortwo line. There are two versions, the coupe and cabriolet. Brabus, long time partner of Mercedes, has now teamed up with Smart to produce the Smart fortwo Brabus Exclusive.
A standard base Passion Coupe has an MSRP of $13,990. The Brabus Coupe starts at $17,990 while a Passion Cabriolet’s MSRP is $16,990 and the Brabus version starts at $20,990. So what do you get for the extra 4,000 clams? Imagine a Passion Coupe or Passion Cabriolet that got an extreme makeover.
It still has the 3 cylinder, 12 valve 1.0 liter but Brabus gave it a new engine management system which increased the Passions’ power from 71hp to 98hp. Brabus also installed a sports suspension system that lowers the car by 10mm, sports exhaust system, front, rear and side skirts in the cars’ exterior color. You also get Monoblock VII 6 spoke alloy wheels (the rear wheels are 2 inches wider than the regular coupe and cabriolet).
On the inside, heated leather seats, a 3-spoke leather sports steering wheel with steering wheel shift paddles with a leather gear knob and sports pedals in matte brushed aluminum with rubber surface. Sadly there still isn’t a spare tire.
Top speed is regulated at 95mph and 0-60mph in 9.9 seconds. That irritating jerk between gear ratios is still there but I noticed that if you take your foot of the throttle between shifts you get smoother transition. Definitely no S class here folks. The ultralow profile tires and the sports suspension system gave it a more firm to the point of hard ride.
Overall, the extra power is great but I’m still undecided if I’d dole out the extra cash just to make my Passion cuter.
