Electric Smart #1 BRABUS leaks ahead of debut – expected to boast over 400bhp

The new electric Smart #1 SUV, the first from the Geely-Mercedes venture, is getting a performance Brabus version, due to debut on 26 August.

Brabus has been turning out cosmetically titivated and performance-boosted versions of Mercedes’ best for a long time, and that has extended to Smart cars too, the last we saw being the Electric Smart EQ Fortwo Racing Green Edition we saw last year which came with some Brabus cosmetic tweaks.

But Smart is now in a new world with its joint ownership by Geely and Mercedes, so you might have thought the Brabus connection would hit the history books, but it seems it’s alive and kicking and about to be revealed as the Smart #1 Brabus on 26 August.

Ahead of that, Chinese media has published photos of the #1 Brabus showing a Smart #1 SUV with lots of splashes of red, butch bumpers, a front splitter, bigger back spoiler and 19″ alloys.

But what is more interesting is that it seems, unlike the recent electric Mercedes EQS Brabus, there’s more power on offer too. Quite a bit more.

Chinese media are reporting the #1 Brabus comes with an extra electric motor to deliver a 4WD Smart, and power of around 400bhp, likely to get the #1 Brabus to 62mph in under 5.0 seconds with suspension and brakes sorted to deal with the added performance.

None of this is confirmed – although sounds right – but we’ll find out for sure on 26 August when Smart takes the wraps off the #1 Brabus in China.