Last week, I just finished a road test of the smart fortwo #1 Smart Brabus in Lijiang, and also gave a detailed introduction to the appearance, interior and infotainment system of the standard version of the smart fortwo #1.
Let me start by giving you the conclusion: the smart fortwo #1 Smart Brabus is the most fun car you can buy for under 300,000 RMB.
Edgy Style
Before we dive into my experience test-driving the smart fortwo #1 Smart Brabus, let’s first take a look at the differences in appearance between the Brabus version and the standard version.
In fact, before the test drive of the standard version of the smart fortwo #1 Brabus in Lijiang, the official had already released the official images of the Brabus version.
Overall, the exterior of the smart fortwo #1 Smart Brabus has shed the “cute” and “adorable” feel of the standard smart fortwo #1, giving people more of an “edgy” sports feel.
When I came to Beijing for the test drive, I finally gathered the three different exterior colors of the smart fortwo #1 Smart Brabus. Personally, I prefer the combination of matte gray body with a red top. In reality, the color combinations of black body with red top and red body with black top are also nice.
The front face of the smart fortwo #1 Smart Brabus has undergone a significant change.
The two additional air intake slots on the hood are very eye-catching, but in fact they are blocked and probably have no actual aerodynamic effect.
The inner wall of the smart fortwo #1 Smart Brabus’ grille is also painted red, which looks more restrained than simply spraying the grille bright red, but of course it also costs more. The lower lip of the grille also extends further outward under the red trim, compared to the standard version.
The Smart Fortwo Coupe Limited One Brabus Edition #1 features long vertical air intake slots on the sides of the front bumper, with a black air deflector design that extends outwards, reminding you that it is wild and dangerous, not just an ordinary vehicle.
The most prominent feature on the sides is the red roof design, as well as the red mirrors. The subtle detail that echoes the front lip is the red lower bumper line.
This line extends to the rear, where the entire rear spoiler is also redesigned. The red line intermittently runs around the entire circumference of the car, and even has red “PERFORMANCE” insignias on each line.
The red and black elements extend into the interior, quantified in a very good way, with black as the main color and red dotted around the details, maintaining high consistency with the exterior visual effects.
Inside, the large B logos of BRABUS are prominently embroidered on the headrests.
All sewing threads on the entire body are also replaced with red. The seats are made of microfiber ultra-fine velvet material, and a red lining is carefully added to the perforated seat. In reality, the tactile sensation is slightly harder than the normal version of the Smart Fortwo Coupe Limited One #1, and the suede material also increases the friction between the person and the seat.
The steering wheel also gains better tactile sensation and slip resistance by adding Alcantara material.
The BRABUS logo can glow on the bottom.# smart fortwo #1 BRABUS: Performance Wrapped in Red
The red of the smart fortwo #1 BRABUS is like a wrapping of the car’s interior and exterior with the vehicle’s performance. We can see this red “overflowing” throughout the car, giving it both restraint and wildness. Even the details like the door handle, stitching, and caliper are interesting nuances that can only be noticed during secondary inspections.
It reminds me of EVA confined in mecha, and now we’ll release it on the racetrack.
A Racing Cannon?
The smart fortwo #1 BRABUS gave me the feeling of both strong power and extreme agility on the racetrack.
Our test drive took place at the Beijing KaiZe Sports Experience Center, where the track is not long but 1.6 kilometers in length, yet every lap made me feel that this car had a high limit.
Firstly, the suspension has to provide sufficient support for daily driving, so it cannot be set too hard. However, in the track, I found that it can support me to go through corners at very high speeds, and the rebound did not cause bouncing.
Instead, it was the EcoContact 6 235/45 R19 tire from mainland China that warned me with tire noise each time I entered a corner, indicating that the tire’s limit had been reached.
In fact, the tire had reached its limit, but the car itself had not. I even used the degree of tire noise at each bend to judge whether my steering was excessive.
At this point, I want to introduce the most joyful feeling for me, which is that I can feel the rear axle swaying outward in almost every bend, but the vehicle is still completely controllable. This kind of feeling that you are about to drift creates a subtle psychological test for me, making me try to test the limit of drifting in the next bend. The tire screeching on the track was continuous and unceasing.
Along with the constant small drifting, I also felt the pleasure of overcoming understeer.
The smart fortwo #1 BRABUS’s understeer occurs when I apply heavy throttle after passing the corner apex. You will find that this 3.9-second small beast accelerates too quickly, causing the front wheels to lose grip and slide toward the outside of the track. The common approach is to step on the brake to reduce speed and allow the front tires to regain sufficient grip. However, as long as you have confidence, you can completely continue to press down on the throttle, and the strong rear axle power will push you back on track.
This kind of pleasure is the driving pleasure at the core of the smart fortwo #1 BRABUS. But this enjoyment quickly triggered my thinking that the smart fortwo #1 BRABUS’s ESC (Electronic Stability Control) system actually reflects smart’s confidence in the limit of the car!
In any mode on the track, smart EQ fortwo cabrio Brabus allows you to have a lot of fun throwing the tail and pushing the front like I instinctively keep pushing the accelerator to bring the car back on track when pushing the front or finding the limit of the tail.
This is because the four wheels of this car are like welded to the ground and have never left it, which is the source of smart’s confidence.
The ESC only comes into play when you really lose control of the vehicle. The default limit set by ESC on the smart EQ fortwo cabrio Brabus is already very high.
A conservative ESC will not only suppress the fun of driving but also show a lack of self-confidence in the vehicle’s performance limits. Therefore, for safety reasons, ESC intervenes as soon as possible to take control of the vehicle away from the driver.
Even with high threshold judgment, ESC will still intervene during driving and interrupt the driver’s operation, which is not very enjoyable. For example, even with BRABUS mode + ESC OFF, the coach still thinks that ESC intervention will affect the operation, because even in the case of ESC OFF, 50% of the control power is still retained.
The idea behind smart EQ fortwo cabrio Brabus is how to let more ordinary people enjoy the fun of the track while ensuring safety in critical moments, which is very logical.
During the on-site test drive, I achieved a top speed of 75 km/h in the elk test, with the tail slightly touching a cone. But for an SUV carrying three people, I think this result is very good. Even professional coaches achieved a good lap time of 55 seconds on this track.
How smart did it
How can smart EQ fortwo cabrio Brabus achieve such a level of performance on the track?
The key is to focus on the power to highlight the track capability.
The power of the smart EQ fortwo cabrio Brabus is very aggressive. Based on the 200 kW motor power at the rear axle, a 115 kW motor is added to the front axle to form a four-wheel drive system. This system enables the smart EQ fortwo cabrio Brabus to achieve a speed from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds, which is truly explosive.
Another factor is the “four-wheel and four-corner” design. This is easy to understand. The farther the distance between the four wheels, the more stable the structure they form. Specifically, on the vehicle itself, this means having a larger tread width (the distance between the left and right wheels) and a larger axle ratio (the ratio of the wheelbase to the length of the car body) in the longitudinal direction.The front and rear track of smart fortwo BRABUS #1 are 1,585 mm and 1,590 mm, respectively, which is already quite impressive. Compared to MINI JCW COUNTRYMAN’s front and rear tracks of 1.565 mm and 1,567 mm, respectively, the difference is quite significant.
If you look closely, you will find that the front track of smart fortwo BRABUS #1 is 5mm narrower than the rear track. This is consistent with the philosophy of sports cars, as most sports cars are rear-wheel drive and wider rear tracks can provide better grip and increase vehicle stability.
With the wheels almost at the four corners, the next step is to set the longitudinal position.
The wheelbase of smart fortwo BRABUS #1 is 2,750 mm, the overall length is 4,300 mm, and the axle ratio is about 0.64. Smart has almost placed the wheels at the outer edge of the vehicle, which is also evident from the appearance.
Based on the rear-wheel drive smart fortwo #1, smart fortwo BRABUS #1 adds a motor to the front axle, which requires many reinforcements and adjustments to be made to the front axle to fully utilize its power.
Smart fortwo BRABUS #1 has strengthened the diameter, thickness, friction lining, and front suspension stiffness of the front brake disc, and while strengthening the front axle, the weight distribution of the entire vehicle has also reached the golden ratio of 50:50.
These seemingly technical parameters ultimately create the outstanding performance of smart fortwo BRABUS #1 on the racetrack.
Conclusion
On the third day of my test drive, which coincided with the Chengdu Auto Show on August 26, the price of smart fortwo BRABUS #1 was officially announced, which is 279,000 yuan.
The performance, appearance, and interior of smart fortwo BRABUS #1 are significantly different from the regular version, and I think it is quite cost-effective given its price, as there is no competitor at the same price point in the market. Instead of being limited to 2,000 units, it has been changed to give old users the right to upgrade and new users the chance to draw lots, giving more people the opportunity to get behind the wheel.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.