.................

Graphics: DaimlerChrysler

Prototype: smart roadster

If the new City-Cabrio has whetted your appetite for more: the two-seater smart roadster prototype will be

presented for the first time at the MCC smart GmbH stand. It features a performance-enhanced SUPREX turbo engine, a low vehicle centre of gravity, and a weight of just 700 kg - so you can be sure of open- ended motoring enjoyment. The Roadster prototype takes full advantage of the innovative smart vehicle concept. It, too, features through-coloured body panels, a rear module with integrated drive train, a spacious interior and high safety standards. Photo left and text above: MCC

Photo and photo text: Auto Motor und Sport        Additional preparation for the web by MBEP webmaster Already being tested but not definitely okayed yet: Smart Roadster

The mystery about the future small-car strategy of DaimlerChrysler has been solved since the entrance of the German-American car group at Mitsubishi Motors: There is none at all - at least no basically new one.
 Since according to a decision of the board of management no model of the Mercedes brand shall be built below the A-Class and Chrysler due to the lack of competence, image and production capacities sensibly will keep out of the compact car business in Europe, the role of the small car supplier furthermore falls to the subsidiary Smart.
There the conditions in the meantime have changed to the better. After the failed experiment to develop and market a car by people who have proved to be an amateur play group, now also at MCC ((Micro Compact Car)) in Renningen near Stuttgart ((Germany)) rules the professionalism known from Mercedes. Today there are seasoned Daimler-people at work.
With the expansion of the smart-series - which in the beginning only consisted of the hard to sell city-coupe with gasoline engine - with a convertible- and a diesel-version now it`s going astonishingly freshwards with the sales figures ((freshwards is the translation of a wordplay from an expression of an advertising campaign in Germany, it means into the direction of freshness)). With great difficulties and costly incentives in 1999 just 80.000 Smart could be sold, so MCC heads for at least 100.000 units this year ((2000)) ((reports from other sources state that the figure 80.000 for 1999 in fact was missed by at least 1.000 cars and that this figure contained an uncertain number of cars unsold - although registered for road use in Germany and thus bearing number plates - and stored outside in one or more parking lots)). Until the end of May ((2000)) already 38.000 Smart were registered for road use ((38.000 divided by 5 multiplied with 12 would mean 91.200 cars within one year - not taken into account that typically sales to the general public are low in the fourth quarter - but still clearly missing the 100.000 mark)), most of them in Germany (16.000) and Italy (12.000). Still a lot of worries causes France, where until now no more than 3.000 buyers could be attracted for a Smart.
From late autumn ((2000)) the 2.50 metres short two-seater starts as left-hand drive version in the UK and Japan, too, the right-hand drive versions for these two important export markets follow two years later. The diesel (share 20 per cent until now), but even more the convertible (24 per cent) have exceeded the - once bitten twice shy - conservative sales predictions by far.
That gives hope for the Smart Roadster which has already been presented as a study at the 1999 IAA ((Frankfurt Motor Show, Germany)) which will go into serial production in 2002 with an engine tuned to 70 hp ((DIN)). Planned are 30.000 units a year, which could be produced on a separate assembly line parallel to coupe and cabrio in Lorraine`s ((city of)) Hambach ((France)).
Although the development of the open two-seater is going full steam ahead the project still has not officially been okayed by the board of management. It always is waiting for decision at the meetings - last time on May 18th ((2000)) - but is adjourned over and over again. In fact that does not mean that the future of the roadster is written in the stars, but shows there are other priorities.
End of translated first half of the article - translation by MBEP webmaster
Remarks by MBEP webmaster in ((blabla)), but (blabla) belongs to the original text

Axe Falls On Merc's Baby Roadster
29/3/2000 - Mercedes has sensationally scrapped its plans to build the SLA baby roadster, Auto Express can exclusively reveal. The tiny two-seater sports car was set for production after being unveiled as a concept at the Detroit Motor Show. Since then, though, the project has been shelved in favour of an MCC Smart roadster.

Peter Pfeiffer, the German company's head of design who was responsible for the concept car, as well as the new C-Class ((W203)), said: "We will not be building the SLA. It was designed as a concept car and we could have gone ahead with it, but it's not part of our marketing plan."

Based on the platform and running gear of the firm's A-Class, the possible baby brother to the SLK and SL roadsters was to use lightweight alloy and composite bodywork, which would help to keep its weight down to a feather-light 950kg. The chassis, running the 123bhp 1.9-litre engine currently in the A-Class, would have competitive performance. A 7.9-second 0-60mph time and a 140mph top speed were claimed for the concept machine. Despite such impressive figures, however, the SLA met with a lukewarm reaction from Detroit showgoers, who seemed to be unimpressed by the its quirky styling, especially the unusual front and rear lamp arrangements.

The projected price of a production version was around £28,000, which was considered prohibitively high. It would have put the SLA into direct competition with models such as the Audi TT roadster, BMW Z3 2.8, and the entry-level versions of Mercedes' own SLK. As a result, to cash in on the worldwide boom in roadsters, the firm wants to build a smaller, cheaper vehicle.

However, the manufacturer is anxious about taking the Mercedes brand too far downmarket as this may hurt its carefully nurtured image at the luxury end of the sports car scale. With this in mind, top bosses have ordered the SLA to be scrapped. The small roadster project which gets the nod is from Mercedes' subsidiary, MCC Smart. Dubbed the MG Midget for the 21st century, it is due on sale in late 2001, with a price tag of only £12,000. This will expand the city car brand beyond the current trend-setting small commuter vehicle and perfectly suit the marque's trendy, youth-orientated image.

The final production version of Mercedes' Smart Roadster is expected to resemble closely a concept car which was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September last year. The supermini-sized Smart Roadster is set to be the shortest mid-engined car on sale, and it will use the same innovative steel 'tridion' frame technology as the City Coupé. And, like its sibling, the roadster will be clothed in dent-resistant plastic body panels, which can be quickly replaced, so owners can change the shade of their car cheaply and easily. The 600cc three-cylinder turbo engine is also borrowed from the current model, although it will be uprated from the present 55bhp to around 100bhp. Mounted behind the passenger compartment and transmitting its power to the rear wheels via a six-speed clutchless sequential manual gearbox, it will prove more than enough to give the Smart lively performance thanks to the car's 700kg total weight. Expect a 0-60mph time of under nine seconds and a 100mph top speed.
End of article from "Auto Express"

1999:  Smart Four-Seater for Year 2000

1999:  The Smart - An Expensive Flop ?

1997:  MB stops Ultra Mini Car MCC Smart - Another Debacle

Last revised: June 20th 2000  Visits since Aug. 25th '99.

.................

©1999-2000 by MBEP webmaster   This is a private, non-commercial home page.  For detailed disclaimer click here