When I think of "Smart Car," i'm thinking of the ubiquitous bubble, a favorite of real estate companies, food delivery and more.
Until last month in Munich, I never realized it once had a sporty cousin, the Smart Roadster. Or in this case, the Roadster Coupé, distinguished by its roof treatment.
Sadly, the Roadster, with a sleek body stretched out from a standard Smart ForTwo chassis, was, like so many sporty cousins, a bit of a black sheep. After two years of production (2003-2005) it was discontinued.
Not because it was unpopular—the orders piled up faster than they could be filled—but because it was so wildly unreliable mechanically. Enough of them had such serious leaks that in the end, Mercedes, parent of Smart, paid an average of €3,000 in warranty work per vehicle. A lot for a car whose price was around €10,000 new!
While it was popular (at first) in Europe, American reviewers didn't think much of the idea. In 2003, Car and Driver commented that Americans seemed to feel that "Small cars are for the poor and the soon-to-be-squashed. The Smart looks as if somebody bolted an engine and four wheels onto a Lincoln Navigator's glove box!"
If design and production details fascinate you, Wikipedia has them HERE
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