How hopes were raised at the idea of a rear-engined, rear-driven city car! OK, dreams of a drift-tastic £10K shopping trolley were probably a little unrealistic but of the
Smart ForFour
/Renault Twingo partnership surely the French would be willing to spice things up a bit with a little hot hatch magic? We'd had that V6-engined, Renault 5 Maxi influenced
Twin'Run concept
Still cutesy but Brabus wheels add some muscle
The reality, while characterful and a break from the front-driven norm,
plays it a little safe
. And the official line is studiously non-committal about Renaultsport being let loose on the car as we might hope. But all is not lost! Smart seems a lot less cautious and spy shots are doing the rounds of what is claimed to be a Brabus version of the new ForFour.
Think Brabus and you may well be picturing some ludicrous twin-turbo V8 with over 900hp where the rear seats used to be. Hold on sunshine, not quite! According to our colleagues on Autocar this is a mild makeover of the 90hp turbocharged triple, delivering a less than neck straining 115hp or thereabouts. Hardly enough to trouble that deliberately cautious ESP system but a step in the right direction.
been here before
too, its previous ForFour a much overlooked hot hatch that combined some serious poke - 177hp no less - in commendably lightweight and distinctive packaging. There were some rough edges and it was surprisingly raw and stiff but it has a small but
enthusiastic following
and you'll usually find one or two lurking
in the classifieds
. Brabus ForTwos and Roadsters did a little better and were entertainingly boosty point-and-squirt city runabouts, knobbled by the slow-shifting automated manual but fun in their own way.
If unlikely to be a true hot hatch contender a Brabus'd up next-gen ForFour does have potential and we'll be keen to see how it shapes up when formally revealed. And if it spurs Renaultsport into action all the better.
Photos: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
