Geneva Preview: Smart gets Limited Edition Three treatment
by John Neff on Feb 25th 2009 at 4:56PM 
Click above for high-res gallery of the smart fortwo "edition limited three"
Companies often exploit our fondness for Spring in their marketing efforts. There are detergents that smell like flower beds, flora-inspired fashions and candles that give off the soft scent of freshly cut grass. We're a people who like the restorative, born-again qualities of the season that emerges after a long, cold winter, and smart knows this. No stranger to unveiling special edition models of its fortwo model, the Daimler-owned brand will be showing off the new "edition limited three" model at the Geneva Motor Show next month.
The "edition limited three" model tugs at our temporal heart strings with a new exterior color called Melon Green Metallic. The Spring-ish hue is carried over into the top soil-colored interior where it's used as an accent on the seats, door panels and dash. smart says the interior also features dark brown "leather-effect details" – spoken like a true economy car salesman.
Available as a coupe or cabrio, the "edition limited three" is based on the company's Passion trim level and also adds mhd, or Micro Hybrid Drive, which is another way of saying the powertrain has start/stop functionality to save fuel when the car is stopped or coasting at slow speeds. Since the fortwo seems to be gaining a lot of buzz in the U.S., we were hopeful this new special edition would also be sold in North America, but no mention of sales in the U.S. or Canada are made in the press release that can be read after the jump.
[Source: smart]
PRESS RELEASE
smart fortwo special model "edition limited three": Spring into spring with smart
A special edition of the smart fortwo will be celebrating its world premiere at the 79th Geneva Motor Show. The "edition limited three" boasts exclusive, elegant paintwork and a spring-like fresh interior design concept. Thanks to mhd technology as standard, the cult two-seater car combines a chic appearance with outstanding environmental friendliness. The smart fortwo "edition limited three" will be produced as a limited series.
smart is welcoming the spring with a special series featuring melon green metallic paintwork and extensive equipment, thus continuing the tradition of smart special models. The new special finish of the spring model injects a fresh shot of colour for the new season and harmonises with the tridion safety cell. The 15 inch alloy wheels in a sporty six-spoke design fitted with tyres measuring 175/55 R15 at the front and 195/50 R15 at the rear are a further eye-catching feature. The exterior look is rounded off by aluminium-effect "limited three" logos in the mirror triangle.
The interior boasts an unusual, fresh design concept in terms of colours and materials. Here, the melon green metallic colour scheme is continued in an exclusive fabric design with shades of brown creating a stylish contrast, for example on the seats and in the door trim. The instrument panel featuring dark brown leather-effect details also continues the fresh play of colours that contrast with the green fabric. The 3-spoke sports steering wheel with steering wheel gearshift is covered with dark brown leather, as is the gear knob. Shimmering matt silver trim parts round off the harmonious impression of the interior.
The new edition, which is available as a coupé and a cabriolet, is based on the "passion" equipment variant. Among other features it comes with softouch automatic gear programme, electric windows, air conditioning with automatic temperature control, and for the coupé a panoramic roof with sunblind. The standard equipment of the "edition limited three" also includes dashboard instruments and the radio 9. Power steering, heated seats, a lockable glove compartment and the smart sound system with five high quality loud speakers and a smart MP3 interface are optionally available.
The special series of the new smart fortwo also places a focus on "green" when it comes to the environment thanks to micro hybrid drive (mhd) technology as standard with an intelligent and user-friendly automatic start/stop system. The control electronics shut down the 52kW /71 hp engine as soon as the driver brakes and the vehicle's speed falls below 8 km/h - for example when approaching traffic lights. The engine starts again in the fraction of a second when the driver releases the brake pedal. The system is perfectly tailored to the automated manual transmission of the smart fortwo and is fully automatic - the driver does not need to do any clutchwork or gear shifting. The automatic start/stop system reduces the combined fuel consumption by approximately eight percent (NEDC consumption per 100 km: coupé: 4.4 litres, cabrio: 4.5 litres). It also reduces the CO2 emissions to 104 grams per kilometre for the coupé and 106 grams per kilometre for the cabrio version. Fuel savings of up to almost 20 percent are possible in urban traffic with frequent stop-and-go situations.
The special model "edition limited three" costs €15,470 as a coupé and €18,510 as a cabrio (German list price incl. VAT).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jake 5:03PM (2/25/2009)
The Smart ForTwo Three???
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Jake 5:05PM (2/25/2009)
At first shrug I thought that it would seat 3 people with the "three" edition, as in Smart ForThree instead of Two.
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Hagai 5:10PM (2/25/2009)
Suddenly the Toyota IQ look great...
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Bill E 6:05PM (2/25/2009)
I thought there was independent testing that showed MHD gave the car worse gas mileage?
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James 6:56PM (2/25/2009)
Why are there so many lime green cars in Europe these days? Citroen's latest vehicles, Ford Fiesta, etc.?
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stevemoschetta 7:01PM (2/25/2009)
There is a Smart for Four on sale in Europe which would be perfect here. But according to my local Smart dealer, they won't be sold in the US. Dumb.
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James 7:55PM (2/25/2009)
Did your dealer also tell you that the smart forfour was also a slow selling total flop (along with the poorly manufactured smart roadster), and was discontinued in mid-2006, and that's the main reason it won't be sold in the US?
smart has yet to really make a profit since its inception, and that's the main reason why US roll-out was limited to the fortwo city coupe. It's currently the only vehicle they sell. Read before you post!
a1rcher 8:12PM (2/25/2009)
Re: Steve and Smart for Four: Pretty harsh, James - lighten up. Maybe you should find a girlfriend and ask her why the automotive world is interested in lime green.
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David 7:02AM (2/26/2009)
No, James is correct. This is OLD, OLD news!
The forfour was actually designed with a view to US sales, but it was such a flop in Europe, it was discontinued. It was a big failure for Smart. I saw a few of them in Europe. I thought they looked okay.
The roadster was interesting-looking too.
The dealer in question is very naive for a Smart dealer. I'm used to idiots like him from my attempts to discuss scooters with motorcycle dealers in the U.S.. They are woefully ignorant about such things. It's pathetic! The dealer is supposed to have superior knowledge of the products they sell, and not be "educated" by the customer about his own products.
William 9:28PM (2/25/2009)
Those wheels look lifted from the MK2 Toyota Prius.
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JP Hedin aka DrSmart 3:28AM (2/27/2009)
Another feeble attempt to create interest in a badly flawed concept. Is Mercedes really an expert at engineering & building small cars ? The answer is definitely no. I saw a first gen -the one with the Mercedes logo on the cam cover-and it looked so much better than the Mitsubishi engined transportation device. The car was a "make work project" to provide employment in Alsace-Lorraine. No matter how many special editions they produce-how about an Inspector Clouseau special edition-the smart (?) car is a one trick pony that will run out of steam and resale value when the Toyota/Scion IQ starts selling in volume. Definitely a better idea.
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