Brabus Smart ForFour spied
Renaultsport won't commit to a hot Twingo but Brabus is working on its Smart ForFour cousin...
The reality, while characterful and a break from the front-driven norm, plays it a little safe. And the official line is studiously non-committal about Renaultsport being let loose on the car as we might hope. But all is not lost! Smart seems a lot less cautious and spy shots are doing the rounds of what is claimed to be a Brabus version of the new ForFour.
Think Brabus and you may well be picturing some ludicrous twin-turbo V8 with over 900hp where the rear seats used to be. Hold on sunshine, not quite! According to our colleagues on Autocar this is a mild makeover of the 90hp turbocharged triple, delivering a less than neck straining 115hp or thereabouts. Hardly enough to trouble that deliberately cautious ESP system but a step in the right direction.
Brabus has been here before too, its previous ForFour a much overlooked hot hatch that combined some serious poke - 177hp no less - in commendably lightweight and distinctive packaging. There were some rough edges and it was surprisingly raw and stiff but it has a small but enthusiastic following and you'll usually find one or two lurking in the classifieds. Brabus ForTwos and Roadsters did a little better and were entertainingly boosty point-and-squirt city runabouts, knobbled by the slow-shifting automated manual but fun in their own way.
If unlikely to be a true hot hatch contender a Brabus'd up next-gen ForFour does have potential and we'll be keen to see how it shapes up when formally revealed. And if it spurs Renaultsport into action all the better.
Photos: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
[Source: Autocar]
http://www.brabus.com/en/raster.php?page=5&sub...
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/smart/bra...
personally that new one has no appeal to me.
How much did a MK2 Escort weigh???
Still, at least there is the aftermarket, hopefully power levels can be raised a touch more.
By all accounts, although RWD these (and the Twingo) aren't actually much fun.
It will also probably end up costing more than a Fiesta ST, which arguably makes it rather pointless.
This new smart would appear to have the same power, more torque and possibly slightly less weight. So a very similar power to weight ratio overall and a newer stiffer chassis.
Not too mention it seats 4.
I'll take the sportscar; you can have the frump-mobile.
The MX-5 MK1 with the 1.6 (early model) had 115bhp and 100lb ft and weighed just over 1000kg (or ~950kg for early ones without the additional bracing).
Even today these are considered fun and fast enough to be sporty.
So surely a 1000kg or under RWD car 115bhp today could be considered potentially fun and fast enough too. Ok it might not look as good, but compared to the mass of ugly FWD hatches, it actually fairs no worse.
But then again, maybe you are just a champion of double standards?
The MX-5 MK1 with the 1.6 (early model) had 115bhp and 100lb ft and weighed just over 1000kg (or ~950kg for early ones without the additional bracing).
Even today these are considered fun and fast enough to be sporty.
So surely a 1000kg or under RWD car 115bhp today could be considered potentially fun and fast enough too. Ok it might not look as good, but compared to the mass of ugly FWD hatches, it actually fairs no worse.
But then again, maybe you are just a champion of double standards?
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff