2009 Smart ForTwo Brabus Edition

L.A. Auto Show

L.A. Auto Show
The 2009 ForTwo Brabus Edition made news at the Smart stand.

Though U.S. demand for economy wheels has lately dropped along with gas prices, the Smart ForTwo racked up some 31,000 sales over its first 11 months in America (January-November 2008). That's pretty impressive for a low-power shoebox with limited utility outside the urban jungle, not to mention a small dealer network. On the other hand, the ForTwo parks as easy as a shopping cart, looks fashionista funky and, as most people know, comes from the house of Mercedes-Benz, all big positives.

To help keep buyers interested, importer Smart USA brought a sporty, new 2009 ForTwo Brabus Edition to ever-trendy L.A. Brabus is a German company that's been tuning up and tarting up various Mercedes models for years, sometimes in outrageous ways. But the U.S.-market Brabus ForTwo is a modest effort, basically a trim-and-equipment package available in both coupe and convertible form.

Functional upgrades involve a Brabus-tuned exhaust system (which doesn't change engine output or performance), a refettled automated manual transmission, wider alloy wheels (in stock 15s up front, 17s for the rear), and a firmer sport suspension that drops ride height about 0.4-inch. Other changes are purely cosmetic: choice of black or silver paint, "aero" styling add-ons, Brabus logos inside and out, aluminum pedal trim, and velour floormats. The package also includes the heated leather seats, power steering, and extra gauges available on other ForTwos. 

Smart says the Brabus ForTwo will start a limited-sales run in early 2009. No word yet on how many will be available, but you can bet that more such specials are coming. The Brabus package adds $4,000 to the price of a normal Passion-trim coupe and $4,400 to the Passion convertible, lifting respective base stickers to $17,990 and $20,990.

Meantime, Smart confirmed recent European reports by announcing that a battery-powered ForTwo is being developed and might be sold in the U.S. No timetable has been set, however, and technical details remain under wraps.­

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