Tuesday 12th December 2017

Smart Forfour Brabus: Spotted

Is this the most affordable Brabus product on the market?

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Seeing the Brabus badge on a Mercedes tends to mean it's been tuned to put out silly numbers, look quite stealthy, and emit a sound similar to the God of Thunder throwing a tantrum. However, back in 2005, the tuner lent its name and expertise to the Fortwo and Forfour variants of the Swatch Mercedes ART project. The project was doomed from the start with problems over the name from the get go, followed by massive losses after the model lineup was expanded, and ending with smart GmbH being liquidated and completely absorbed by DaimlerChrysler.

But don't let those misfortunes turn you away from the Forfour. It shared almost all of its components with the Mitsubishi Colt, including the turbocharged four-cylinder engine, but, being Brabus, the standard tune on the four-cylinder turbocharged 4G15 engine wasn't quite enough. So power was turned up to a plentiful 177hp, in a car weighing a little over a tonne.

This particular car has been remapped to 212hp, meaning a 0-62mph time dropped from 6.9 seconds to 6.1, whilst the brake pipes have been replaced with braided versions and the upgraded Bilstein coilovers should take care of the uncompromising standard ride. There are a couple of pitfalls to watch out for however, the plastic panels can be difficult to source and are prone to cracking, whilst the beautiful Monoblock VI wheels have been sprayed black to help combat the corrosion they are known to suffer from.

Howmanyleft shows that just 238 ForFour Brabi are still on the road, so it'll be quite a rare sight. But if you're after something a little less quirky than the Forfour, then the less powerful Fiat Panda 100HP is a more common option. That doesn't carry the cache of being a Brabus owner though...

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SPECIFICATION - SMART FORFOUR BRABUS

Engine: 1,468cc 4-cylinder, turbocharged
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 177@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 169@3,500rpm
MPG: 41.5mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 159g/km
First registered: 2006
Recorded mileage: 99,000miles
Price new: £17,195
Yours for: £2,200

See the original advert here

[the_hood]

Only bought in September and 5 + owners. Seems suspicious.

[Tuvra]

That's a painfully bland Interior

[chazwozza]

Put an offer in and you've got a decent little bit of shove for not much readies. I like the "Brabi" grammar!

[j90gta]

Neighbour used to have one; handled like a go-kart. Biggest problem was its propensity to get through alloys. The front tyres were 40s and the rears 35s and the alloys would break if they ran over a pebble.

[s m]

Quite a sleeper with the extra poke

Did these have the sliding rear seats to vary legroom and boot capacity?

[kambites]

Mmmm, torque steer.

It's tragic they didn't put a properly powerful engine in the newer, RWD For4.

[Mr2Mike]

j90gta said:

Neighbour used to have one; handled like a go-kart. Biggest problem was its propensity to get through alloys. The front tyres were 40s and the rears 35s and the alloys would break if they ran over a pebble.

The Brabus monoblocks on the ForTwo and Roadster were also made of chocolate, I suspect few of them remain fully circular by now.

I considered getting one of these before the Swift, they are quick little cars but they are getting old and tired, and most seem to have been abused.

[Jimmy Recard]

"Howmanyleft shows that just 238 ForFour Brabi are still on the road, so it'll be quite a rare sight. But if you're after something a little less quirky than the Forfour, then the less powerful Fiat Panda 100HP is a more common option. That doesn't carry the cache of being a Brabus owner though..."

Why would it carry a cache?

I could, however, understand if it had cachet

[s m]

A slightly more expensive one for sale

https://www.gumtree.com/p/smart/smart-for-four.......

Back reminds me of a VW Up - albeit a very fast one

[atacama]

My brother had one for a while - even in stock form it was hilariously boosty and great at surprising anyone who didn't clock the Brabus badge. Ride was appalling, the familiar cracked wheels probably down to the car trying to use the alloy itself to soak up bumps since the suspension was non-existant. Also I remember it used to chew through front tyres for something so light!

[Mr Tidy]

For some reason I quite like the idea of one of these!

Especially as they have a proper gearbox, unlike most other Smarts!

[GregK2]

Had mine for nearly 5 years, great fun car. Now just sitting in my garage, if anyone is interested, let me know.

[Cambs_Stuart]

200bhp from a mitsubishi engine and just over a tonne? Sounds like it's got potential, even if you have to bin the oem wheels.
But 5 owners, a raft of mods and the last owner only having it since September does make it seem a bit fishy.

[irob]

I had one for a while. Nippy little things. Changed to aftermarket wheels after fixing a 3rd buckled wheel. I quite liked the styling, interior and the fact most people had no idea what it was.
Funnily enough mine had lots of owners too. I guess owners sell them to fund spinal surgery.
I gave mine to my dad as it wasn't quite big enough despite the clever rear seats. A year or so later I got a r53 cooper S. Very similar cars in many ways but the MINI had much more character.

[jakesmith]

irob said:

I had one for a while. Nippy little things. Changed to aftermarket wheels after fixing a 3rd buckled wheel. I quite liked the styling, interior and the fact most people had no idea what it was.
Funnily enough mine had lots of owners too. I guess owners sell them to fund spinal surgery.
I gave mine to my dad as it wasn't quite big enough despite the clever rear seats. A year or so later I got a r53 cooper S. Very similar cars in many ways but the MINI had much more character.

Like most impractical cars, a lot of people don't seem to keep them for very long, it's the norm with a lot of sports cars. People are either petrolheads & have lots of cars they want to try, or they buy it, realise that it is uncomfortable and small, and change for something else

[sr.guiri]

Why the hell did I click on this link?

Running out of news, are we?

[Usget]

kambites said:

Mmmm, torque steer.

It's tragic they didn't put a properly powerful engine in the newer, RWD For4.

Ever driven one? We had a Twingo, which is the same thing. 90bhp was plenty!

[alexrogers92]

the_hood said:

Only bought in September and 5 + owners. Seems suspicious.

It's a 2006 car? Nothing suspicious about it.

[Turbobanana]

They missed a trick by not calling the naughty version "ForPlay".

[Bert Cheese]

I've only ever seen one of these...
In my Alfa GTV TS at the time and just entering the westbound sliproad of J9 M27 at Fareham, I saw a spangly looking Smart in my mirror and it then passed me as I thought "he's a bit ambitious" little realising he had a lot more puff than the average Smart before watching as he belted down onto the motorway and 1-2-3 straight into the BMW lane seemingly without effort!
I never bothered trying to follow, just sat there in my fat underpowered pretend Alfa chuckling at the injustice of it all