10 Sep 07
Of course, the point with any car bearing the Brabus badge is sportiness. This is apparent straight away with the Fortwo, thanks to wide alloy wheels (16" at the front, 17" at the rear) and flared wheel arches; a dual-tailpipe sports exhaust; a body-coloured front apron with integrated spoiler and air inlets, side skirts and rear apron; and titanium-coloured surrounds on the halogen headlights.
This sporty theme is continued in the interior with instruments, pedals, controls and a three-spoke steering wheel using copious amounts of stainless steel, rubber, leather and aluminium throughout the cabin.
But the real measure of a sporty car is how it drives. To this end, Brabus has taken the standard Fortwo and wrung some more power out of the 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbo engine, uprating it to 98bhp and 103lb-ft of torque. This accelerates the car from zero to 62mph in 9.9secs before heading to a limited top speed of 95mph.
The figures to some degree belie how quick the car actually feels, with progress feeling more rapid in the dinky little city car thanks to the lightness of the car and the rorty engine note. However, despite improvements to the gearbox since the last iteration of the Fortwo - and the company claims shifts are 20% quicker than in the standard Fortwo - changes are still far from silky smooth, so when pushing the car there's still a degree of jerkiness that ultimately makes for an unsatisfying drive.
Like the transmission, the suspension has been tweaked by Brabus to turn the Fortwo into a sporty machine. New shocks and coil springs have been fitted, lowering the body by 10mm. On the road this results in a slightly firmer ride, but not so much that it makes driving in town, its natural milieu, with its accompanying speed humps and potholes, uncomfortable.
One aspect that would have benefitted from a substantial change from the standard Fortwo is the steering, which is lacking in feel and slow, using nearly three-and-a-half turns from lock to lock.
