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Project Numeric Brabus 450

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  • Project Numeric Brabus 450

    Well as you guys may recall, we upgraded from our Passion 450 to a Brabus 450 in December.
    It was a lovely example, well maintained, and it was very high spec - having been initially ordered as a Brabus Tailor Made example with Phat Red panels, custom red leather interior and a few extras like Power Steering, Sat Nav etc.

    As lovely as all this was - it wasn't to the taste of my other half (who's car this now is)... so we set about changing it - swapping the panels over form her previous Pasison (the same panels which had infact started life on the Pulse we had owned before the passion!), getting the seats re-done in fabric (as she's vegetarian and doesn't want any unnecessary leather in the car), fitting the standard cassette player (because the NAV unit doesn't have AUX in for ipod), and then a few extra mods like shiny bits inside, michalak door handles, DRLs etc.

    Some of the changes are quite "detail" - even the "Brabus" original parts haven't all survived - the carbon trims inside have made way for chrome ones, the Brabus gearknob & handbrake have been upgraded for Chrome versions (still Brabus though) and the Brabus rear valance panel has been changed to the original 600cc Chrome version (again still Brabus)

    Some might see some of the changes as being "downgrades" on this car (NAV>tape, Leather>fabric etc.) but it's been a really interesting project for me as I've learned so much about how the interior hangs together, how the seats are constructed, how the electrics are wired, how the panels fit etc.

    I'd probably have kept leather if it were mine (I'd have swapped to black) but overall, despite this car having been a minter when we bought it, I'm really pleased with how it's turned out... it's looked a little rough along the way while things have been done but it's probably even more unique now than when it started!


    Here's a few "Before" shots:




    & Here it is now:


    Inside:


  • #2
    Re: Project Numeric Brabus 450

    Looks fab - hope you swapped the seats over and didn't just recover them.

    Or did you just swap the covers and keep the heating element?

    JJ

    www.forfour.co.uk (tech 454) - www.quidco.com/user/417377/1833011/ (free £)

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    • #3
      Re: Project Numeric Brabus 450

      More involved than that. The seats in the passion were neither heated nor had side airbags & as we could not locate a set of fabric heated/airbag'd seats, we took the leathers off the Brabus seats (sold to Nick on smartz), fitted brand new pulse fabrics (sourced from a seller in Germany) 1 we had to swap the seat foam also - sourced from S2smarts who had some old seats which were going to be thrown away.

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      • #4
        Re: Project Numeric Brabus 450

        I think it looks good after as I prefer the blue to the red, but it just seems less of a Brabus now, it looks like a pulse with Brabus trims.

        But that's what modifying is all about making it 'your way' and doing the things you like.

        Also matches the mini in the background better

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        • #5
          Re: Project Numeric Brabus 450

          Our biggest criticism of the Brabus models is their lack of colour. Hence wanting to swap the panels was always the plan though we expected to buy an all-silver or all-black car - the red one was already a one off but we both preferred the numeric panels so stuck to plan-A & replaced them anyway.

          The mini isn't ours - it was the previous owners 2nd car.

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          • #6
            Re: Project Numeric Brabus 450

            i've had to replace seat leathers in the 450 and the 454 - interesting work and so simple - mine were bought from smart though.

            why were the foams different?

            numeric are still the most iconic panels

            JJ

            www.forfour.co.uk (tech 454) - www.quidco.com/user/417377/1833011/ (free £)

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            • #7
              Re: Project Numeric Brabus 450

              Originally posted by 137699 View Post
              Our biggest criticism of the Brabus models is their lack of colour. Hence wanting to swap the panels
              My thoughts too, also makes yours even more unique

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