Photo: CarPix
The smart cars definitely have their own appeal, being the closest thing to the idea of a kei car that we can get outside Japan. And even though they didn’t catch on in the US as well as Daimler had hoped, Europe has proven a much better market for the smallest of German cars.
Well, they’re only German in name. Wait, let me rephrase that. They’re only German in thought because the smart models are being assembled in France (fortwo) and Slovenia (forfour), so just like the Apple products, the only real reference to Germany you can find on the car’s stickers will say “designed in Deutschland.” But that shouldn’t take anything away from the perceived build quality of these cars.
Tiny, funky-looking, rear-engined and rear-wheel-driven cars with manual transmissions and low weight - what is there not to like? Well, the engine department is lacking a little, with only two options currently available, none of which sounds particularly impressive: first up is the 1.0-liter naturally aspirated unit developing 72 hp, while the more powerful option is the Renault-sourced 0.9-liter turbo good for 90 hp.
The cars may be light, but they’re not made out of paper, so those power figures are as frail in real life as they sound on the screen. The 90 hp turbo does struggle to leave a good impression, but falls just short of actually succeeding.
Fear not, the Brabus versions are on their way and they promise to make the most of the promising set-up these little cars use. But if you’re more accustomed to hearing the Brabus name in the context of 800+ hp cars, you’re going to have to lower your expectations a little here. And by “little,” we mean a lot.
The exact power figures or even the engine the Brabus fortwo and forfour will use is still a mystery, but the tuning house will undoubtedly have to choose between tuning the 0.9-liter unit further, or going for Renault’s larger 1.2-liter turbo that develops 120 hp in its natural form. That means we can expect anything up to about 130 hp from the new smart forfour Brabus. At the lower end of the interval, going below 110 hp would make people question whether the Brabus badge is worth so little extra power versus the price increase.
Speaking of price, we’re still in the dark here so we only assume it will place the smart forfour in a zone where models from upper segments will become viable alternatives. But people don’t buy smarts because they’re the rational choice anyway, so up to a certain point, that’s irrelevant.
The new spy images don’t bring a lot of information on the model: we can still see the double exhaust tailpipes, the modified front and rear bumpers covered in camouflage and the lowered suspension with wider tracks and wheels at the back, to cope with the extra grunt. But that’s it.
In all fairness, the engine dilemma is what we’re mostly curious about, right next to how the car will actually drive. But we’re in for a few months long, wait as the smart forfour Brabus won’t launch sooner than the Geneva Show in March.
Tiny, funky-looking, rear-engined and rear-wheel-driven cars with manual transmissions and low weight - what is there not to like? Well, the engine department is lacking a little, with only two options currently available, none of which sounds particularly impressive: first up is the 1.0-liter naturally aspirated unit developing 72 hp, while the more powerful option is the Renault-sourced 0.9-liter turbo good for 90 hp.
The cars may be light, but they’re not made out of paper, so those power figures are as frail in real life as they sound on the screen. The 90 hp turbo does struggle to leave a good impression, but falls just short of actually succeeding.
Fear not, the Brabus versions are on their way and they promise to make the most of the promising set-up these little cars use. But if you’re more accustomed to hearing the Brabus name in the context of 800+ hp cars, you’re going to have to lower your expectations a little here. And by “little,” we mean a lot.
The exact power figures or even the engine the Brabus fortwo and forfour will use is still a mystery, but the tuning house will undoubtedly have to choose between tuning the 0.9-liter unit further, or going for Renault’s larger 1.2-liter turbo that develops 120 hp in its natural form. That means we can expect anything up to about 130 hp from the new smart forfour Brabus. At the lower end of the interval, going below 110 hp would make people question whether the Brabus badge is worth so little extra power versus the price increase.
Speaking of price, we’re still in the dark here so we only assume it will place the smart forfour in a zone where models from upper segments will become viable alternatives. But people don’t buy smarts because they’re the rational choice anyway, so up to a certain point, that’s irrelevant.
The new spy images don’t bring a lot of information on the model: we can still see the double exhaust tailpipes, the modified front and rear bumpers covered in camouflage and the lowered suspension with wider tracks and wheels at the back, to cope with the extra grunt. But that’s it.
In all fairness, the engine dilemma is what we’re mostly curious about, right next to how the car will actually drive. But we’re in for a few months long, wait as the smart forfour Brabus won’t launch sooner than the Geneva Show in March.
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