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The Cannonball Run that takes place every year in Europe dpesn't have much in common with the Hollywood comedy it takes its name from. In fact, the goal of the modern-day race is not to finish in the least amount of time possible, but to finish with a specific average speed; 61 miles per hour, in the case of the 2008 event. So, while it may be initially shocking to hear that this year's race was won by a BRABUS smart fortwo, it actually makes sense considering that the smart was able to run the entire race averaging 35 miles per gallon. Therefore, while the other high-powered competitors were constantly stopping to refill their gas tanks, first-time competitors David Ward and Adrian Hull of the U.K. were able to motor along and wave as they gingerly passed them by. Score one for efficiency!

[Source: smart via AutoblogGreen]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the Brabus SLR and its tender

Megayachts usually come with fancy tenders, so why not supercars, too? BRABUS has taken the idea and run with it, pairing one of its tuned McLaren SLR Roadsters with a matching runabout in the form of a smart fortwo-based ULTIMATE 112. The SLR is the beneficiary of the usual complement of upgrades, including a full body and trim kit (dig those carbon fiber replacement "gills"), a custom interior, and the requisite underhood tweaking, which bestows the roadster with 650 horsepower -- enough to make the Kessel run to 62 mph in 3.6 seconds, with a top end of 211 mph.

When its time to park the super-Merc and head into more constrained areas of the city, it's occupants can switch over to the car's ULTIMATE 112 "tender" which is finished and appointed to perfectly match its "mothership." In this case, that means the same white paint, deep red roof fabric, and right red leather interior -- right down to the waffle-patterned leather footwell trim. Of course, the little shuttlecraft gets a power bump as well, with 112 thundering horses prancing ponies under the wee bonnet. The cost of this matching set? A mere €699,000 gets the job done for owners of either an SLR or a Maybach, and it shows us that BRABUS is uniquely capable of finding new and innovative ways to separate the obscenely wealthy from large chunks of their money.

The BRABUS press release gets into the minutiae after the jump.


[Source: BRABUS]

With all the hype surrounding the imminent sale of smart fortwos beginning next month here in the U.S., we overlooked a line on the smart's website that may hint at some hotted-up versions of the diminutive coupe. Although the model will initially be introduced with 1.0-liter three-pot, "Other engine types and sizes (including BRABUS) may become available in the next few years though no specific timeline has been outlined." What size engines they're referring to is up in the air, but if smart begins selling factory-authorized Brabus accessories – particularly the tuner's engine packages – it might open up a whole other demographic to the smart's growing fan base.

[Source: smart USA]