Hot Smart #3 Brabus ups the attitude with a sleek styling kit

German tuning expert Brabus is no stranger to tweaking cars from the Smart brand. Its latest upgrades aren’t for a two-seat city car, low-slung roadster or energetic hot hatchback though, but instead a series of parts for the Smart #3 SUV.

If you’re reading between the lines, you’ll note no mention of extra power there. That’s because there’s already a Brabus variant of the Smart #3, and it already makes a hefty 422bhp – the kind of output you might have seen from some of the brand’s Autobahn-storming tuned Mercedes back in the day.

Instead, this is simply a package of upgrades for the existing Brabus-badged car, giving the #3 more visual attitude to go with its ample (0-62mph in 3.7 seconds) performance.

Working from front to back, Brabus adds a lower lip spoiler to the existing front bumper, claimed to reduce high-speed lift, and a couple of trim elements to the side grilles. The side skirts are unchanged, but Brabus has always been a proponent of an eye-catching alloy wheel, and offers either 20-inch or 21-inch ‘Monoblock Z’ designs, in place of the standard 20-inch alloys. The 21-inch versions are forged and have a racing-style centre-lock cover for the hubs. Both wheel options get a choice of Continental, Hankook, or Yokohama tyres.

Brabus also fits sports suspension which lowers the ride height by 35mm, while around the back there’s a new tailgate spoiler, and a diffuser element for the rear bumper. The overall effect, in pictures at least, is quite convincing – from some angles you could almost kid yourself it’s a slick-looking hot hatchback, rather than a portly 1,800kg SUV.

The Brabus upgrades continue inside, with backlit Brabus scuff plates in each door sill, black floor mats, a velour boot liner, aluminium pedals, and embroidered Brabus logos and red piping as far as the eye can see.

The #3’s upgrades join a package of similar visual tweaks for the shorter Smart #1. All prices for the Brabus parts are ‘on request’, while the standard Smart Brabus #3 currently starts at £45,450 on the road.

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