2005 smart ForFour Review

Specifications

Cute and Cuddly smart Gets Racy

Behold the worlds most powerful smart. The forfour (deliberately lowercase) Brabus concept is a full-out racing conversion of the compact forfour, which was shown at this years Essen tuning show in Germany. Its surprising to see such a conversion concept from a firm that, for the better part produces the worlds smallest cars, powered by puttering little diesels that generate two-figure output levels - no doubt the reason the brands DaimlerChrysler parent is unsure about selling them in America. By comparison to smarts anemic production models, this ones a screamer.

In any respect, the forfour Brabus concept provides an imaginative answer to the question, “What would a smart look like as a racing car?” Brabus, the official tuner for smart vehicles, was in charge of creating this maniacal concept. The German tuner firm was serious about it being a strict competition vehicle, so therefore everything about this one is completely functional and relating to performance.

Corresponding to its mechanical changes (which we will discuss later), the exterior has been modified, suitably. A purpose-designed front skirt and rear, roof-mounted spoiler aim - and succeed - in creating negative lift. Underneath, and hidden from view, the forfours innards have been covered by aerodynamic aluminum plates which form a diffuser that pokes out from behind the rear bumper. The engines additional demands for oxygen are met through a monstrous, offset hood scoop that creates a direct-feed to the air intake.

To attain the title of being the most powerful of all smarts, the forfour concept features a turbocharged and intercooler version of the top of the line forfour engine. The tiny, Mitsubishi-designed 1.5-liter motor has been pushed to its absolute limits, producing a Mini Cooper S Works-challenging 210-horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque. Thats a stately gain from the most powerful production smart, the forfour Brabus that serves up 177-horsepower and 170 lb-ft of torque.
Being the most powerful smart also makes this the quickest smart off the line and fastest for top speed. Even when compared against Brabus experimental V6 Biturbo Roadster-Coupe concept, the fourfor is faster. It rockets to 60 mph in under six and a half seconds, shaving 0.4 seconds off the production forfour Brabus time. Top speed is a rather un-smart-like 145 mph.
To deal with the extra boost in power, the forfours manual gearbox (not the clutchless gearbox) has been upgraded to feature a differential lock, a critical component to help put power and torque to the pavement. To counter, racing-grade brakes, fitted with larger discs and meatier calipers provide increased stopping power. They also do a good job at filling up the open space made by the up-sized six-spoke Brabus 7×17 and 8×17 inch alloy wheels.

True to its racing nature, the forfour-based concept has received the racing treatment for its interior. Top of the line Recaro racing seats complete with Sparco five-point harnesses replace the standard cloth buckets, while the rear bench has been removed for weight-saving purposes. The cabins frame has been crisscrossed with a full aluminum roll cage providing the necessary strength and protection when on the race track.

This crash-diet has also removed many of the forfours segment-exclusive features. Gone are the high-end stereo and navigation systems; the space formerly used now features bright red toggle switches and additional gauges. The dashboard, center console and steering wheel have been wrapped in grippy Alcantara faux suede, while carpeting and sound-deadening materials have been removed, leaving bare metal plating exposed.

Given smarts tough financial times and rather nonexistent motorsport history, its doubtful that the forfour Brabus concept will result in anything serious. Brabus, however, insists that all equipment introduced with this concept has been rigorously tested, which means that much of what is under this concepts skin may end up in future production vehicles.