Brabus Breaks New Ground In EV "Tuning"

With electric cars becoming the new big thing among car lovers with more money than sense, it’s clear that the world’s many tuning houses will try to get in on the action sooner or later… but how? Brabus has offered tuning packages for the Tesla Roadster since shortly after the EV sportscar launched, but the treatment has always been basically skin-deep: wheels, spoilers, lighting, and best of all,

several simulated engine sounds including that of a typical V8 combustion engine, a racecar engine and two futuristic soundscapes named ‘Beam’ and ‘Warp.’

Which is all well and good, but it highlights a real problem: tuners simply can’t improve the performance of EVs without replacing the batteries or reprograming the entire car. For a company like Brabus that’s used to turning crazy-fast Benzes into super-crazy-fast ‘bahn burners, this has to be a frustrating state of affairs. So what’s a tuner to do? Instead of dialing up the power, the future of EV tuning may just be in making these already-green cars even greener.

In pursuit of this new marketing strategy, Brabus has partnered with the German utility company RWE for its TESLA Roadster Sport BRABUS Green Package, an upgrade that’s available only in the German market. We’ll let the presser explain:

The exclusive BRABUS customization program for the first electric production sports car includes the RWE-BRABUS high-tech quick charging station for the customer’s garage and environmentally friendly RWE Eco Electricity for 30,000 kilometers (18,641 miles). Also included is a one-year RWE car electricity pass for free use of all public RWE charging stations… The purchase price includes the professional installation of the stylish high-tech charger in the customer’s garage. The quick charger is three times faster than charging the two-seater at a normal household power outlet and environmentally friendly RWE Eco Electricity for the first 30,000 kilometer (18,641 miles) is free. In less than six hours the open-top eco sports car is fully charged for an operating range of some 350 km (220 miles). Eco-friendly power is available away from home as well. The Green Package also includes a one-year pass for free use of all public RWE charging stations.

The only problem with this strategy is that it can only be locally implemented. Still, as EVs grow in popularity, one can imagine more tuning houses partnering with local utilities to offer renewable-based home charging as well as local public charging station access to go with aftermarket wheels, spoilers and yes, simulated engine noises. Welcome to the brave new world of EV “tuning.”