The Smart brand is going big this year in Malaysia. Not only do they have the Smart #1 Premium and Pro lined up for the eventual release later this year, but there is also a third option coming soon – the Smart #1 Brabus. Yes, this car carries the famous performance name on its badge, and it looks like it means serious business.
As a recap, the #1 is a compact electric SUV around the size of the Ora Good Cat and Mini Countryman measuring 4,270mm long, 1,822mm wide and 1,636mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,750mm. Geely is handling the engineering of the car, with some help for design from Mercedes. The #1 is built on the Smart’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA), the same one that underpins the new Volvo EX30.
You see some subtle differences between the vanilla #1 and the Brabus edition. Mainly – you get more red accents throughout the car, both inside and outside. The Mercedes designs on the original #1 are still there – you can see it via the silhouette of the car.
Underneath the skin lies a beast – a dual-motor setup for an all-wheel drive (AWD) car with an output of 422hp (315kW) and delivers 543Nm of torque. We didn’t get the chance to test the power, but suffice to say, that number is something else altogether.
Smart included something fun for the driver – the ability to playback engine sounds with the Brabus edition. Drivers get two options with the car – the normal engine sound and a V6 engine sound. When the driver presses the accelerator, the car will playback the sound in a loop. It kind of works, but it may not be for everyone.
Like the #1, the car accepts both 150kW DC fast charging and 22kW AC charging, which tops the 66kW battery up from 10-80% in about 29 minutes and about 3 hours respectively. This is the same battery as the Premium model by the way.
That 66kW battery unfortunately only lasts about 400KM on the WLTP cycle – about 10% less than when compared to the Premium model.
Some of the #1 design carries over to the Brabus edition – like the clamshell bonnet, flush door handles, frameless windows and a floating roof design. Even the light-up logos on the C-pillar is here on the Brabus edition.
What is different versus the Premium and the Pro models is the inclusion of an aero kit, which sees the car sport some, ahem, sportier enhancements. There are vents on the front of the car, unobtrusive side skirtings and even a rear spoiler – something that the original #1 lacks.
Inside, you get a ton of Brabus branding as well. The Brabus’s B greets you as you step inside the car on the headrests, the light-up logo on the steering wheel is Brabus instead of Smart, and you will see red stitching all over the interior – in the seats, in the door cards and some parts of the dashboard too. The dashboard also sees some sportier designs such as a chromed surface (in gunmetal grey), red inserts around the aircon vents and default LED lights set to red.
You still get all the creature comforts of the #1 – electrically adjustable seats, 60:40-split rear bench that can be reclined and slid forwards and backwards, as well as autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and lane centring assist for Level 2 semi-autonomous driving. Smart chose to clad the seats, at least some parts of it, in Alcantara material to give it a nice, plush feeling when sitting down.
Pro-Net is still coy with the pricing of the Smart #1, which includes the Brabus edition – but we can expect it to be within the higher end of the Smart #1 estimated price range – between RM 200K – 250K. Check out its official unveiling right here.
