brabus

Brabus' mobile office concept is cooler than your cubicle

The office pictured above is fairly awesome. What's even more awesome is that it's a mobile office, located in the back of a van. The Brabus "Business Light" Concept for the Mercedes-Benz Viano is, besides a ridiculously long title, "the perfect partner for leisure and business with custom interior options, powerful engine tuning, exclusive exterior design and custom-tailored wheels," according to Brabus' own press release.

Of course, the Business Light features the requisite wheel, suspension, and aero/aesthetic upgrades over the stock Viano. Under the hood breathes a 6.1-liter V-8 engine that outputs … Read more

Video: Smart Brabus Electric Drive sound generator tested

Some sight-impaired people believe hybrid and electric cars pose a safety risk. They reckon that because these things make virtually no noise, it's only a matter of time before they're involved in some sort of collision with an errant G-Wiz or Citroen C1 EV'IE.

Smart doesn't particularly believe this to be true, but its latest vehicle, the Smart Brabus Electric Drive, incorporates a gadget that may save the lives of the visually challenged. Or not. It has a sound generator that mimics the noise made by a traditional internal combustion engine. More to the point, it … Read more

Smart Brabus Electric Drive sounds like USS Enterprise

Are you tired of being run over by near-silent electric cars? No, us neither, but we've got good news for anyone who often finds themselves wandering into the path of freakishly quiet oncoming eco-cars.

Meet the Smart Brabus Electric Drive--a modified version of the Smart ED prototype we tested back in April 2008. This one's been given the once-over by German tuning company Brabus, which has painted it spearmint green and white, fitted a matching interior, and added some interesting new gadgets.

The most significant addition, as far as we're concerned, is the noise generator. Flick a switch under the dashboard, hit the go pedal and the car makes a noise that sounds like the USS Enterprise as it enters warp speed. The sound doesn't come from the internal speakers, either--it's generated by an external loudspeaker positioned toward the front of the car. If you want something slightly less bonkers, flicking the switch in the other direction will make the car sound like a highly beefed-up Smart fortwo. It's ace. … Read more

Brabus Smart fortwo CDI vs. go-kart (video)

Garage 419 host Matt Farah was recently handed the keys to a Brabus Smart fortwo CDI, but because this particular fortwo was a prototype from Bosch Clean Diesel, he wasn't allowed to take it to a race track. So he did the next best thing and took it to a go-kart track where he pitted the 40 horsepower, 74 pound-feet of torque of the Brabus Smart against a 6.5 horsepower racekart. Should be an easy win, right?

Hilarity ensues.

[Source: Garage419.com]

Smart announces fortwo Brabus

Smart has revealed a new version of its fortwo at the 2008 LA Auto Show, the fortwo Brabus. Brabus being the German tuning house most famous for their close ties with Mercedes-Benz. If the idea of a performance variant of the superthrifty fortwo seems a bit odd, you're not alone. We're looking at with a bit of skepticism as well.

Particularly because the fortwo Brabus features no more power than the standard 71 horsepower fortwo, choosing to boost performance in the suspension and aesthetic departments instead.

The fortwo Brabus will be released in limited quantities and made available … Read more