Triple Play: Mercedes reportedly files patent papers for three-seat Smart
Trying to give buyers more chances to get into a Smart, the company produced a four-seat hatch called the ForFour in 2004. It sold so poorly that the car was axed after just two years. In spite of that, Autocar says that parent Mercedes-Benz has filed patent papers for an embiggened Smart.This time, it's the Smart ForThree, with a 1+2 seating arrangement a la the McLaren F1. Unlike the F1, though, the Smart's center-positioned driver's seat would be completely forward of the rear seats. That way, it could rotate or be mounted on lateral sliders to make it easier for the driver to get in.
Engines aren't mentioned, but Mercedes does have a line of modular three-cylinder engines as well as a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox that are being prepped for small car use. Sources report that the car could be in showrooms by 2014.
[Source: Autocar]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Stu L Tissimus 4:37PM (8/03/2009)
That diagram sure looks like the Smart Roadster...
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Kitko 6:53PM (8/03/2009)
Actually, Smart Coupe. Which is the Roadster with a hatch :-) Still, they drove beautifully, sort of like a very comfortable go-kart. But they cost a fortune...
zamafir 7:22PM (8/03/2009)
yup, looks like Murray's car (his personal smart coupe, not the car he engineered) :).
Bloke 8:45AM (8/04/2009)
"Actually, Smart Coupe. Which is the Roadster with a hatch :-)"
In actual fact the two models were Roadster and Roadster Coupe.
Aloysius Vampa 4:43PM (8/03/2009)
Scared of the iQ?
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zamafir 7:25PM (8/03/2009)
the car that makes the smart look like a valid proposition? I think not.
if they brought a new smart coupe to the us with this layout it'd sell like hotcakes.
Alex 9:42AM (8/04/2009)
You think? I think most people would be turned off by a 1+2 seating position. I know the little lady would not be interested in sitting behind be when its just the two of us in the car. I wouldn't be too keen on her being behind me either. Makes road-head nearly impossible.
MikeofLA 4:46PM (8/03/2009)
Remove the two seats and throw in a rolecage, GSX-R motor and a couple other things and you could have yourself a whole new racing series.
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Aloysius Vampa 5:29PM (8/03/2009)
I like the way you think.
Protzenegger 5:01PM (8/03/2009)
I'll believe it when I see it.
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mike 7:58PM (8/03/2009)
Getting in and out of a drivers seat placed in the middle of a car (even a small car like the Smart) seems like a major pain.
I can't picture the mechanics of it actually.
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RG 7:41AM (8/04/2009)
Dang, and I was just about to give you a McLaren F1.
Oh well, I guess I will have to find someone else who wants it...
mike 2:18PM (8/05/2009)
@RG
hahaha....
Well, but be fair... super cars, like super bikes, are not about ease of use on a day to day basis.
I don't think getting in and out of an f-1 would be any more enjoyable as I went from supermarket to bank to post office to dinner.
And honestly if you gave me one I would drive it a few times for fun and then sell it as I could not afford the lawyers it would eventually surely take to dig me out of the trouble I had gotten into with it.
But then I see efficiency as performance as much as I do power or handling.
So I would probably sell it and buy a piagio mp3 hybrid and maybe a prius and maybe a mini convertible for tooling about on sunny weekends with others in tow.
aazinko 6:27AM (8/06/2009)
Oh wow, that is really cool when you think about it!
RT
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