Mansory is now tuning affordable cars

We thought you were safe from the clutches of Mansory. Unable to afford million-pound hypercars or carbon-smothered SUVs, we figured we could observe the German tuner’s work from afar, safe in the knowledge our own lives will never be affected by it.

Now, though, Mansory has diversified. To normal people’s cars. This is a Mansory Smart Fortwo, and it looks most displeased to see you. City cars get no angrier than a titchy Smart given a carbon bonnet, widebody arches, a grille that apes AMG's own and a diffuser of improbable usefulness.

Aware of this, Mansory has countered the wee car’s vitriol by painting it purple and referring to it as a ‘Smartie’. Seriously. We’re suddenly warming to it…

Mind, if the purple puts you off, better not peek inside at what appears to be a mustard-inspired interior. Sunglasses all year round in here. Perhaps even more so if you've gone for their baby blue 'n' white Cabrio instead.

These aren't just aesthetic makeovers, however; Mansory has breathed on the Fortwo’s performance, lifting the power output of its dinky 898cc engine from 90bhp to 125bhp, torque climbing even more dramatically, from 100lb ft to 148lb ft. There are stockier 18in wheels to better handle those ferocious figures while presumably knackering the ride.

“Even when standing still, the Smart Fortwo enhanced by Mansory delivers a real ‘wow’ factor,” the company says, in perhaps the hardest to argue statement in recent history. “If you are looking for a smart solution for the city, our exclusively styled 'Smarties' are the right choice.”

Agree? Or are you running scared?