What are the best body kits for Smart cars?

This blog will list and explain the best body kits available for smart cars. Answers to the following questions are also provided in this blog: what are the common parts in the body kits? How to install a body kit on a smart car?

What are the best body kits for Smart cars?

Smart is a German automobile company that makes compact two-seater cars, following are the aftermarket body kits for smart cars:

• Carlsson
• Kuhl
• Lorinser
• Royal body kits

Installing a body kit on a smart car can completely change its looks, the car can also be made lower or wider as per the customer’s liking. These changes are cosmetic and do not change the engine output or mechanical components in the vehicle.

Let’s take a closer look at the best body kits made by the above-mentioned companies:

Carlsson

It is a German tuning company, the full name Carlsson Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH. it was founded in 1989 by Rolf and Andreas Hartge. The company makes tuning parts for Mercedes Benz cars that include wheels, body kits, lowering kits, and a few performance-enhancing bolt-on parts.

The best body kit available for Smart cars is the Carlsson Smart car lowering kit. It not only gives the car a more sporty look but also improves its aerodynamic efficiency. The wheels in the lowering kit can be selected as per the customer but the Carlsson Design ⅙ Revo TE looks great thanks to the lowered height.

The overall price of the Carlsson body kit can be between 400 to 600 USD. Customers can also choose interior accessories like handbrake covers and specially designed Carlsson floor mats. The hand brake cover is made from aluminum and the floor mats include the trunk floor mat too.

Kuhl 

Kuhl FX is one of the best body kits for the smart car. The company claims their body kits improve the overall downforce and improves the aerodynamic efficiency of the cars. The complete body kit consists of a front bumper, side skirts, and rear bumper. 

A spoiler can be added to the coupe models but the key highlight of the Kuhl is the use of the Ground effect. Ground effect means creating a low-pressure area under the car and allowing high-pressure air to follow over the body of the car.

This low-pressure area creates a vacuum under the floor of the car and improves the downforce. The front and the rear bumper of the Kuhl FX body kit have two air dams, the side skirts also extend from the body and seal the area around the car.

There are special vents in the side skirt for cooling the brakes. No structural modification is needed to install the new bumpers with the air dam. The material used in the body kit is also high-grade Aero-flex ABS.

The body kit is available with or without paint surface and Kuhl also sells a custom exhaust system to go along with their ground effect concept.

Lorinser

This company was founded in 1930 and it is known for creating body kits for Mercedes Benz cars. The main dealership is located in Waiblingen but they can ship body kits for the smart cars worldwide using DHL express, Carrier, and UPS shipping companies.

The body kit consists of attachment parts for front, rear bumpers, and side skirts. There are special cutouts for the Parktronic sensors in the Smart Fortwo and Cabrio models. The front and rear bumper kits cost around 500 USD each. 

There are also other performance parts like a sports exhaust and suspension lowering kit for the Smart model series 453. The exhaust is 800 USD and the lowering kits consist of four springs that cost around 250 USD.

Lorniser also has two great custom alloy wheels options. The cost for both wheels is the same; around 350-400 USD. White and black rim colors are available for the Smart models.

All the alloy wheels are approved by TÜV and color-matching hub caps are shipped with the alloy wheels. Original tire bolts are used for the assembling, no mechanical changes are required to install the body kits or the alloy wheels.

Royal Body kits

This company makes a wide body kit for Smart cars called Mansory. It includes a kit 4 and a kit 2 type wide body kit. Kit 4 has additional two diffusers in the rear bumper while kit 2 comes with 2 diffusers in the rear bumper.

Wide body extensions and front bumper are identical. Some of the other parts included in the kits are side skirts, a front grill mask with chrome inserts, outside rearview mirror housing in carbon fiber. This body kit can only be installed on 2014 and onwards models.

Along with a wide body kit, there is also a Ragazzon exhaust system for sale. The complete exhaust system costs around 800 USD and it requires an ECU remap in order to tune the power output. There are two mufflers in the back each 70 mm and provide an unrestricted flow of the exhaust gases.

What are the common parts in the body kits?

A body kit consists of the following parts that can be bolted on the vehicle body, modifications to the stock parts may be required in order to install a body kit.

• Front and rear bumpers
• Side skirts
• Rear spoiler
• Front bumper splitter
• Rear bumper diffusers 
• Fenders and quarternnesl 
• Custom hoods
• Hood scoops 
• Roof scoops
• Window louvers
• Fender louvers

How to install a body kit on a smart car?

The installation process is very easy and does not require any special tools. One of the best things about body kit installation is that the vehicle can be restored to stock condition and the body kit will not affect the resell value of the vehicle. Following is the process to install a body kit:

• Remove the stock front and rear bumpers and keep the screws and rivets in a safe place.
•  Remove the factory side skirts, the vehicle may need to be lifted on a lift.
• Install the body kits and use the original screws and rivets, additional brackets will be provided in the kit to secure the body kit if it is a wide kit.
• All the body kit parts are primed so after installation they must be painted according to the color of the vehicle’s body and allow the color to dry before driving the vehicle.

Conclusion

This blog listed different parts that come in a body kit and also gave information on the best body kits available for Smart cars. The Smart cars are no longer on sale in the American market but the authorized dealerships of Mercedes Benz are still providing aftermarket sales and service.