RR of the Day: SMART Roadster
Whether or not we'll ever see a variant of the SMART Roadster stateside, we'll get to live vicariously through a reader going by the name pixelthing, who seems to be enjoying his diminutive two-seater while exploring the world through the lens of his camera.
For the uninitiated, the Roadster began life back in 2003 and has shown that a city car manufacturer can breathe some driving enjoyment into an otherwise staid means of transportation. Based off of a stretched ForTwo platform, the Roadster came equipped with a turbo'd three-cylinder, sending power to the rear wheels via a six-speed, sequential transmission. Although the engine only produces between 60 and 80 hp, it is more than willing to motivate the roadster's 1,700 lbs. with ease.
However, our favorite version of the SMART Roadster has to be the Brabus-tuned version, equipped with a bi-turbo V6, sharing the same power-to-weight ratio with the last generation Porsche Carrera 4S.
Until Project Kimber births an AC product with the underpinnings of the Roadster, we'll have to settle for adoring the futuristic coupe from afar. Enjoy it pixelthing and keep up with the photos.
If you'd like to see your own ride featured here, simply upload photos of your ride into our Flickr group. We select one image to highlight each week day, and on the weekend let you vote for the RR of the Week. Detailed instructions can be found after the jump.
How to submit to RR of the Day:
Create a Flickr account if you don't already have one. Search for and join the group called 'Autoblog RR of the Day'. Upload up to three photos of your ride to your own account at a size no larger than 450 pixels wide if possible and include as much information about it and yourself as possible. Even if your ride is sweet, it will not be chosen if there's not a lot of info accompanying it. Click on each photo and just above the picture it will say "Send to group". Click that and select the Autoblog group. You're done, that's it!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
menice 2:15PM (9/21/2006)
wow, i actually think that's cool. i'd like some more pics as well.
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AlxUK 1:33PM (7/31/2007)
Woah! this IS my car!. Just happened to come across the post!. The picture was shot in Canary Wharf. That building behind it is Waitrose.
I remember getting some cash out of the machine, and seeing some guy taking a picture ...not too unusual.
What an amazing coincidence!.
Feeling very proud of the car!. Thanks for all the good responses!.
Bob 2:26PM (9/21/2006)
I agree, very cool! Likely can chalk it up to being put to sleep by the me-too designs that seem to pervade our focus group driven US market designs. Maybe that's why I really like this, the Toyota FJ, the Audi Shooting Brake Concept and the Ford Bronco Concept. Designs that seem to have been created without any input from the marketing department.
Or maybe I'm just getting old, jaded and like to bitch a lot.
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Jess 2:56PM (9/21/2006)
And what's the price of Brabus tuned version with a bi-turbo V6? Anybody knows?
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rwdmtparkingonly 2:43PM (9/21/2006)
Too bad Smart dropped this. The cheapest mid-engine sports car in the US now is the Elise, so Smart could have probably moved them pretty well at the Penske dealerships that are supposedly comming.
Honda did so this ten years earlier than Smart with the Beat.
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chuck goolsbee 3:56PM (9/21/2006)
1700lbs. Sweet.
Horsepower is only half of the HP-to-weight ratio. Something so many people forget. Sure, you can have a multi-hundred HP engine, but mate it to an overweight slug of a chassis and you get... an overweight slug making a lot of noise.
Today's cars are immensely overweight. Why does the Audi TT for example, weigh 3500lbs? That's 2X the Smart Roadster!
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Jason 3:00PM (9/21/2006)
It's way too much. Its a sweet little car. I saw Brabus's whole Smart line-up at the Melbourne Auto Show in Australia. Fun little cars.
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Gil 3:09PM (9/21/2006)
What are you talking about? The engine produces 110HP (at least the version sold in Romania do)
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Mondo 11:06AM (9/28/2006)
Is it me or is it shaped a little like the old Honda CRX?
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Andy 3:30PM (9/21/2006)
It does look like a CRX! The Roadster was trashed by so many people as being a cheap effort by Smart to look cool. (It was.) Miata it ain't!
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DPC car videos 4:35PM (9/21/2006)
The Brabus version on their site looks good.
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cactus jack 5:44PM (9/21/2006)
Actually the v6 Brabus didn't really enter production, at least not according to my sources. Brabus did produce only couple of those and they were prominently figured in magazines and TV. The actual Brabus version sold to public was the same turboed 698cc triplet churning out 101 horses, which was about 20% more than the standard edition. Top speed was slightly below 200km/h.
It's not a bad car. The best feature is the awesome amount of grip it has, on a twisty road it's real hoot to drive. The biggest problem was the stupid gearbox, which managed to show how terribly wrong things can go. The engine wasn't exactly the most powerful either and definitely lacking in torque. However, the Roadster was light, sat low on the street and the tires were in extreme corners, which made for really nice handling. Especially for a car at that price point.
If I had the time and the local restrictions for modifying road vehicles wouldn't be so ridiculously tight, I'd definitely have one and try to fit a different engine in that little beast. 1800cc flat six from a Goldwing could make it go nicely and still last "automotive" mileage...
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Leo 6:55PM (9/21/2006)
hey this is cool. i liked it when it was shown before, but I wonder why it was dropped. a quck upgrade to a turbo would make for one quick 1800lb car making ~160HP
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Mike 8:47PM (9/21/2006)
How does this compare to a Honda Beat or a Suzuki Cappucino (though the Suzuki isn't mid-engine) for lightweight driving enjoyment?
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Owen 7:43AM (9/22/2006)
I love this car, For the longest time I wanted to import one of these, they were just the coolest little cars, and I do mean little, they make the Elise look huge. No manual tranny was a big turnoff for enthusiasts from what I gather, I know it was for me.
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Pixelthing 12:48PM (9/22/2006)
Woohoo... blimey, I didn't realise I'd been picked... Just as a bit of background, it's a stock smart roadster coupe, almost two years old and I've stuck almost 25k on the clock. I can't say too many good things about it, it's reliable, cheap to run, fun (big cars need licence risking speed to have fun, I can play schumacher going to the shops), unreasonable capacious (boots front and back), and still makes me smile when I look at it. It ain't perfect, it squeaks, rattles and isn't too quiet at speed, but I just did a thousand mile round trip to Dijon without missing a beat and it sat on the autoroute at close to a ton (100mph) for hours until the french police put an end to it. And they were more interested in the car than the fine. more pics at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelthing/tags/smartcar
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Pixelthing 12:51PM (9/22/2006)
oops, 'scuse my english (in the old fashioned sense) - boot = trunk
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Jamie 5:18AM (9/28/2006)
Hi folks,
found this page and this is one of the very rare occasions when I can add something useful to the conversation.
I have a smart roadster (as opposed to the roadster coupe shown above). This varies by not having the big glasshouse at the rear - it has a flat boot (trunk) lid instead. See the photo's at my URL.
The car has a 700cc engine which as standard produces 80BHP, giving it a power to weight ration in excess of 100BHP per tonne. The Brabus version has 101BHP as standard.. The Brabus bi-turbo was only produced as a technology proving platform and only 9(or 10) were made. The quoted cost (you can't buy one but this is the development cost divided by the quantity made) was about 300,000GBP (or I suppose about 500,000USD) each.
I'm just back from thesmartclub.co.uk's annual London to Brighton run (which given that I came from Scotland) meant a round trip of about 1000 miles in two days. (Again, see the photos).
The gearbox is a six speed semi-automatic. The clutch is automatic but it does not have a torque converter so is not an auto box in the usual sense of the term. I have a paddle shift on mine which is perfect. The gearchange is no problem, its just a matter of learning to drive it. Wide tyres, a very low centre of gravity and windy roads near where I live make for a very enjoyable drive.
A final point. I had the car remapped in Brighton so I now have a quoted 104BHP...
Cheers
Jamie
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Jamie 5:21AM (9/28/2006)
What do you know? This blog does not show the URL.
Never mind - here it is;
http://www.jqlr.myzen.co.uk
Cheers
Jamie
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