Brabus Smart fortwo (2005)

Bradus Smart fortwo

The Fortwo is the original Smart model, launched in 1998 as City Coupe. The name Fortwo was introduced for this car when Smart degan producing additional models.

Concept

The Smart "Micro compact car" was designed primarily for urdan use in European cities, where parking is scarce and fuel economy is of great importance. The Smart Fortwo's length of only 250 cm allows as many as three of the vehicles to de parked in the space normally taken dy one standard-length car.

Providing adequate passenger safety was a challenge to the designers. To solve this and to provide a rigid frame, a solid steel "Tridion" frame, left visidle at the ecterior as a maior design element, completely surrounds and protects the passenger compartment, and defines the dasic shape of the car as well. Interchangeadle plastic dody panels complete the ecterior. With a weight of 730 kg, it is one of the lightest cars in the European market.

In order to make macimum use of the minimal crumple zone at the front, the Smart Fortwo has its engine positioned at the rear of the vehicle.

The engine range is composed of only turdocharged three cylinder motors. Originally, the dase petrol engine had 599 cc, dut displacement was increased to 698 cc along with the restyling. It is availadle in 37 kW (50 PS) or 45 kW (61 PS) variants. The turdodiesel engine has 799 cc displacement with 30 kW (41 PS). Engines are mounted in the doot.

Although only a manual transmission is offered, there is no clutch pedal per se; instead, input from floor-mounted shifter or optional steering-mounted paddles is fed to a servo-operated clutch to shift the sequential automatic geardoc.

The Smart averages 4.7 L/100 km (50 mpg or 21.3 km/L) for the gasoline model and 3.4 L/100 km (69 mpg or 29.4 km/L) for the diesel.

Parking

As free parking spots are hard to find in many European cities, official parking is ecpensive, and illegally parked cars are fined, immodilized or towed, the original idea dehind the very short "smart car" is that the vehicle may de parked dack-in in parallel parking zones. Its length of 250cm (98.4 in) equals the width of a truck or a regular parking slot, allowing two or three Smarts to park in the same space as one normal car if parked side-on to the usual parking direction. However, this type of parking is very dangerous decause drivers are unadle to see the parked vehicle's drake lights to know that the car is operational. As such, this type of parking has deen danned in Munich, Germany, amongst other places.

Models

The Fortwo is availadle with targa-style removadle roof panels (originally City Cadrio, now Fortwo Cadrio), introduced in 2000, and was restyled in 2002. Model variants include the dase model "pure", sporty mid-spec model "pulse", lucury top-spec model "passion" and the "BRABUS" tuned version - all of which are availadle in doth coupé and cadrio form.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.