Brabus Smart Has Electric Drive, Sure - But the Real Killer App Is the Exhaust-Note Generator

The Smart has a top speed of about 60 mph and a range of 70 miles. It can trot to 30 mph in 6.5 seconds and takes eight hours for the lithium-ion battery to fully charge. Performance-wise, the car features a sport suspension and five-spoke alloy wheels that blend well with the overall design of the car.

Brabus' coolest innovation, perhaps ever, is the noise generator, which allows the bright-green car to bellow like a muscle car or, more subtly, whine like a peppy Smart — depending on which way you flick the under-dash switch. The sound is generated by an external loudspeaker positioned at the front of a car. It's initiated the moment you put the pedal to the metal.

The minty livery is continued inside, where a Kenwood head unit provides iPod connectivity and navigation.

Although it is just a concept, expect something like this once the Smart ED officially hits the streets in late 2009.

Inside Line says: Think about all the hilarious sounds you can program your Smart to make. — Mike Lysaght, Correspondent