Two months ago, when the smart #1 officially went on sale in China, the automaker previewed a high-performance version of the all-electric vehicle, which was rumoured to be as a Brabus offering. Now, the wraps have come off the car, which is called the smart #1 Brabus, ahead of its official unveiling at the Chengdu Motor Show later this month.
The performance version of the smart #1 features a number of specific design cues to distinguish it from the trim lines (Pure+, Pro+ and Premium+) available for the standard version of the car. Styling elements include twin nostrils ahead of the bonnet edge and a sportier-looking front bumper, complete with a more aggressively-styled grille.
Both the front and rear bumpers also get expressive diffusers, and the car also gets specific side sills. Also making its way on are a rear spoiler and 19-inch dynamo-styled alloy wheels, and a two-tone paint scheme, along with a host of red accents (including on the lower section of the front grille and brake calipers) round off the Brabus rework for the exterior.
The black-themed interior features an Alcantara/leather-wrapped steering wheel with Brabus badging, microfiber suede seats and headrests with a Brabus logo in red stitching. The red contrast theme continues with a number of accent highlights and red seatbelts, and the smart #1 Brabus also comes equipped with alloy pedals.
While the standard smart #1 models are powered by a rear-mounted electric motor offering 272 PS (268 hp or 200 kW) and 343 Nm of torque, enabling the car to to the 0-100 km/h run in 6.7 seconds, the Brabus variant gets an additional front motor, with the dual-motors providing a four-wheel drive configuration.
Combined power output is 428 PS and 543 Nm and the smart #1 Brabus can acceleration from 0-100km/h in just 3.9 seconds, on to a top speed of 180 km/h, which is typical as EV top speeds are usually relatively low compare to their acceleration time due to not using a multi-speed gearbox.
In line with the increased performance, the variant should also get a larger capacity battery than that found on the standard #1, which is a 66 kWh lithium-ion battery offering a range of up to 440 km (WLTP cycle).
On the standard car, charging to 80% takes seven and a half hours using a 7.5 kW AC wallbox, but European models can support up to 22 kW of AC charging, which brings it down to under three hours. With 150 kW of DC fast charging, the battery can be filled in just 30 minutes.
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Looks yummy. I hope they have knobs for temperature control snd not voice command or tablets
Factor 80% after switching ON aircon
Standard version can do 350km
Brabus version can do 280km
When squeezing aggressively
May drop another 20% range