GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Brabus gets smart
German hot tuner presents world-first aftermarket EV performance upgradeRemember the Aston Martin Cygnet and its tender-for-the-mothership concept?
Well, Brabus doesn’t, because it was a failure the northern German fast-car tuner has decided to replicate with the smart.
Still, at least it’s become the first tuning house in the world to offer an aftermarket performance upgrade for an electric car, taking smart’s fortwo EQ Cabrio and turning it into the BRABUS Ultimate E Shadow Edition “1 of 28”.
The whole idea for the Brabus electric smart (let’s go with that; it’s easier) is to pair it up with its 500 Shadow OPS Limited Edition 1 of 28 boat -- a 28-foot, 368kW rocket with a top speed of 92.6km/h (50 knots).
Hence the “tender” part.
While the boat runs a pair of V8 engines, the Brabus EV powers up the three-phase synchronous motors in the back-end of the smart.
The standard smart has 60kW, but Brabus has cranked that up to 68kW and lifts its torque output by 20Nm to 180Nm.
It’s claimed to run to 100km/h in 10.9 seconds, with a speed-limiter chiming in at 130km/h. Brabus says it can stretch to 125km on a single charge of its battery.
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