Micro Car Company squeezed into a unique market niche when it launched the Smart city-coupe in 1998. A 2.5-meter-long car intended to carry two persons and their shopping made sense on Europe’s narrow urban roads and tight parking spaces. Now Smart adds fun to the equation in the form of a cheeky roadster that’s true to the concept yet imbued with a new dimension of driving excitement.
Make that two additions: the roadster and the roadster-coupé. The first features an electrically retracting roof, while the roadster-coupé has a covered rear section and removable hardtop. The folding soft-top can be opened and closed even while driving at top speed by pressing a switch on the center console. As in the Smart cabrio, the side rails flanking the roof can be removed and stowed in one of the luggage compartments, for a completely unobstructed view of the sky.
The roadster series keeps to the Smart styling theme of futuristic runabout, quite unlike any other cars on the road. Where the city-coupe prompts a double-take with its impossibly short and bulbous design, the roadster presents an unmistakable sports car stance. It looks not so much an 80% scaled-down sports car as a 50x scaled-up slot racer. The wheels are still at the corners, the fenders bulge over them, and the whole effect equals an invitation to drive quickly towards the nearest corner.
There are still four eyes on this Smart’s face, but each pair has now been stacked up on the leading edge of the front fenders. In case that’s not enough, there are four more eyes in the pair of foglamps. The wheels look fitting for the roadster, the 15-inch twelve-spoke trackline, or 16-inch three split-spoke spikeline. Tires are 185/55 R 15, or optional 205/50 R 15 or 205/45 R 16. The Tridion safety cell, wrapping around and above the passenger compartment, stands out in silver or black. The overall look is one of friendly aggression.
If the roadster and roadster-coupé were prizefighters, they would check in at the flyweight class: each weighs just 800 kg, about 150 kg lighter than a conventional subcompact. Of this total, the SUPREX turbo engine takes up just 60 kg. It’s mounted behind the seats, planting that weight where it’s most effective: on the drive wheels. The weight distribution is typical for that of a mid-engined car at 44 percent front : 56 percent rear.
The 3-cylinder turbocharged engine displaces just 698 cc, enough to pump out 80 hp and 110 Nm at 2250-4500 rpm. There’s also a 60 hp / 95 Nm version. The 80 hp version is powerful enough to propel the lightweight car from 0 – 100 km/h in 10.9 seconds, while the 60 hp takes its sweet time, hitting triple digits in 15.5 seconds.
The adequate power is channeled through a six-speed semi-automatic transmission. This isn’t an automatic with a manual override control, but a manual transmission with sequential gears actuated by computer at the driver’s command. If you’ve heard of this kind of setup before, it’s probably because at the highest end of the scale, you’ll find a certain Kimi Raikkonen using a similar system. Aside from the floor-mounted gearshift lever, you’ll also find a pair of paddle shifters behind the steering wheel.
Starting on a hill without rolling backwards is one advantage of conventional automatics, and the Smart’s transmission mimics this behavior through its Hill Start Assist. The computer keeps the wheels braked for 0.7 seconds after the driver releases the pedal, giving the driver enough time to press on the accelerator without the car rolling backwards or forwards. No need to pull up the handbrake for driving off on steep slopes, and smoking-clutch starts are a thing of the past.
Generous room for two should be a given in a Smart, and the roadster keeps the deal intact. Where the city coupe calls for an upright driving position, the roadster positions the occupants closer to the ground. This also allows the roadster to have a total vehicle height of just 1192 mm, about 200 mm shorter than the Mercedes C-sports coupe. This lowers the center of gravity and increases resistance to body roll. Just as important, the driver should imagine, without too much stretching, that his car is emulating a go-kart. Well-bolstered buckets, a thick-rimmed steering wheel and large gauges behind the wheel and on top of the center dash complete the sport
This is one sports car that doesn’t count tightness of space among its attributes. There’s even a bit of luggage room—one at each end of the car. The front compartment is deep enough for a small crate of fizzy drinks, or in this day and age, mineral water, and the rear for several large bags. The hardtop also goes into the rear trunk. The two should be sufficient for a trip to the grocery store or a weekend getaway. A suitcase and some bags can also be stowed under the glazed rear section of the roadster-coupé. There’s a set of optional fitted luggage that can fill every nook and cranny.
The Smart rides on independent McPherson struts at front and a DeDion axle at the rear. More spring travel at either end produces ride comfort that should be near the top of its class. Because of the low center of gravity, acceleration and braking doesn’t tilt the chassis as much, using up little of the spring travel. Another contributing factor is the lack of shake and scuttle that afflicts some open cars. The rigid TRIDION safety cell protects the passenger space, and also allows sharper handling and suspension tuning.
The TRIDION uses high-strength and extremely high-strength steel particularly in the A-pillars and roof frame to ensure integrity of the passenger cell in any sort of crash. Other passive safety features include pretensioned, force-limited seat belts and airbags.
As with other Smarts, Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) comes as standard. ESP includes ABS, Brake Assist, and EBD functions. ESP also helps the car follow the direction in which the driver steers, even at the limit of stability. It throttles down the engine and selective brakes individual wheels to limit plowing of the front end (understeer) or pushing out of the tail end (oversteer). As on the M-class, ESP also acts as a limited-slip differential. If a wheel is beginning to slip, the ESP applies the brake there, allowing the torque to be channeled to the wheels with more traction.
If all of this sounds too tame, the mad engineers at Brabus have been working on Smart cars for some months now, turning the City Coupe into some kind of angry athletic shoe. They’ve also hunkered down to turn the roadster-coupé into a barmy roller skate—a very fast one. For starters they’ve joined two Smart triples into a twin-turbo V6 engine generating 170 hp and 215 Nm. 0-100 km/h suddenly drops to less than six seconds, and top speed shoots up to 225 km/h.
Only eight of these roadsters were built, and reaction has so far been encouraging. If Brabus can resolve some of the packaging problems of their concept cars, such as relocating the fuel tank from its position inside the front luggage compartment, then a run of several thousand roadsters can be produced. Other mid-engined roadsters from Stuttgart had better watch their mirrors.
Smart is certainly proving its concept quite viable. Mercedes-Benz power, engineering and safety features are no small part of that. We can attest that the city cabrio is not a particularly quick car, but its compact size, funky interior and civilized road manners lends it a certain attraction. That attraction now comes to fever pitch in the roadster, a car that you’d want to own just because you can then drive it any time you want to. The car fits the bill of the classic roadster: lightweight chassis, agile handling, and striking good looks. Add a twist of Smart, and you get the most radical roadster ever to hit the road.
By Jason Ang | Photos Courtesy of MCC Smart
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