Did you know that Smart also has a sports car? Smart Roadster

Whether it is in Asia or Europe, as long as it is an economically developed area with less land and more people, minicars are the main commuting tool for urbanites; however, minicars that seem to have limited space and are difficult to innovate are actually There are often some surprising and interesting models popping up, and the SmartRoadster introduced below is one of the masterpieces.

Smart, which is now one of the representatives of minicars in China, was created through a cooperation between Mercedes-Benz and the watch brand SWATCH in 1994. The purpose of its birth is to produce high-quality urban minicars. car, and Roadster is a two-seater micro sports car that Smart began to develop in 1998. Smart's design director Jens Manske understands this micro sports car as an ideal urban sports car. Two years later, in 2000, Smart officially released the Smart Roadster Coupe concept car at the Paris Motor Show, and finally began mass production and sales in 2002.

Picture: Smart Roadster uses four round headlights without a lampshade. The headlight housing and the front air intake are composed of three independent plastic parts. The visual effect is quite strange, like an exterior. Star monster.

Picture: The ergonomics of the interior design are average. The verticality of the center console is very high, making it inconvenient for the driver to use the buttons. As for the speedometer, tachometer, water temperature gauge, etc., they all look like they were made in the later period. Additional modification parts.

Picture: As a brand under the Daimler Group, Smart has a deep connection with Mercedes-Benz. Many Mercedes-Benz modified manufacturers have also launched modified Smart Roadster vehicles, such as this Lorinser Smart Roadster.

Picture: Brabus also launched the Smart Roadster modified vehicle, and now Brabus has become the official modification manufacturer of Smart Roadster.

After mass production, Samrt Roadster launched two models, Roadster Coupe and Roadster. Both models adopt a Targa-style open-top design. The former uses an integrally removable hard top, while the latter Features an electrically foldable soft top. The exterior design of Smart Roadster is quite avant-garde. Even though it has entered the 21st century, its design style is still timeless even today. As for whether it looks good or not? Friends who know this car can be clearly divided into two factions: "very good-looking" and "very ugly". The design of the Smart Roadster is indeed easy to judge as one of the two extremes of "best" or "worst", but perhaps it is this strange appearance that attracts the attention of a large number of car enthusiasts.

Picture: The cloth soft top equipped with the Smart Roadster can be electrically stowed to the B-pillar, or the entire soft top storage mechanism can be removed to become an "authentic" Targa-style convertible.

Picture: Smart Roadster Coupe uses an integrally detachable hardtop. After the roof is removed, it can be placed in a small trunk behind the cabin.

Picture: The easiest way to distinguish between Smart Roadster and Smart Roadster Coupe is to observe whether it is equipped with a transparent trunk cover behind the B-pillar. The Smart Roadster Coupe’s transparent trunk cover is made of acrylic Made to reduce weight.

Picture: The cockpit layout of the Smart Roadster is not comfortable, but you can see a practical design detail from the picture: after the co-pilot's seat backrest is folded down, there is a cup holder on the backrest. But this design also brings a problem: if you want a cup holder, then you have to give up the girl on the passenger seat; if you want to use the passenger seat to ride a girl, then you have to give up the cup holder.

As a sports car, the performance of the Smart Roadster is actually not outstanding. It is originally equipped with a 0.6 or 0.7-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine. These two engines are designed and manufactured by Mercedes-Benz. They can output 60 hp and 80 hp respectively, with peak torques of 9.8 kg.m and 11.2 kg.m respectively.

What outputs the weak power of the three-cylinder engine to the rear wheels is a 6-speed automatic sequential gearbox, which is an automated sequential gearbox, and is equipped with shift paddles on the steering wheel. Although the most powerful engine only has 80 horsepower, since the maximum weight of the vehicle is only 790kg, each horsepower only requires about 9.8kg of weight, so the dynamic response on urban roads is still good.

Picture: The turbocharged three-cylinder engine designed by Mercedes-Benz can only output a maximum of 80 horsepower.

Picture: The automatic 6-speed sequential gearbox is said to be surprisingly frustrating (I believe this statement, because the automatic sequential gearbox of LOTUS Exige S has such a flaw), but it is different from Compared with the AMT gearbox of the previous generation Smart? Fortwo, this one is a sequential gearbox after all, and the shifting speed is still better.

As for the frame design, in addition to the steel monocoque frame, the Smart Roadster also uses the De Dion cross-tube structure rear suspension commonly used in mini cars; this improved non-independent suspension The design solves the disadvantage of traditional torsion beam suspension, which affects the inclination of the wheel on the other side when the wheel on one side moves up and down, changes the ground contact area of ??the rear wheel, and improves the stability of the rear wheel, which is very important for a sports car. important.

Picture: The front wheel of the Smart Roadster adopts MacPherson suspension, and the rear suspension adopts a De? Dion cross-tube structure.

Picture: De?Dion cross-tube structure is one of the oldest automobile suspension designs. However, due to its lower cost and greater freedom in matching shock absorbers and springs, it is common in various consumer-grade micro On the body, the Smart currently on sale also uses this rear suspension design.

Picture: Seeing this monocoque frame, will you still deny the Smart Roadster’s sports car identity?

In 2003, Mercedes-Benz’s official tuning manufacturers took a fancy to this unique micro sports car, so they started a crazy plan: to install a twin-turbocharged V6 engine on the Smart Roadster. So they took two Smart Roadster three-cylinder engines and combined them at an angle of 60 degrees into a 1.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine. This V6 engine, developed by Mercedes-Benz and manufactured by Brabus, can output 170 horsepower. , the peak torque has increased to 22.4 kg.m. Due to the substantial increase in engine weight, Brabus further carried out lightweight upgrades by replacing resin rear windows, and finally controlled the vehicle weight to 840kg. Unfortunately, only 10 units of this V6 twin-turbocharged Smart Roadster were produced, and none of them were released on the market. This crazy toy can only be viewed from a distance and not played with.

Picture: The most powerful Smart Roadster upgraded and transformed by Brabus is named Brabus Smart Roadster Coupe V6 Biturbo.

Picture: The V6 engine, which is a combination of two three-cylinder engines, occupies a huge rear space, so the fuel tank must be moved to the front of the car, and the rear wheel shock absorbers and springs must also be replaced to support this newer engine. Heavy engine.

Picture: With more than double the power compared to ordinary models, it becomes easier to drift. In order to increase high-speed stability, Brabus has also made some appearance changes to improve aerodynamic effects, including the installation of front Aerodynamic kits such as lower lip surround, spoiler and wind blades are included.

Picture: The trunk cover at the rear of the body is equipped with a grille to help dissipate heat.

In 2006, after launching a limited edition of 50 units of the Smart Roadster Collector’s Edition, the Smart Roadster officially ceased production, and Smart has never launched a similar sports car since then.

Picture: The Collector’s Edition launched in 2006 is the final model of the Smart Roadster series.

Smart Roadster’s career in the car industry can be described as “anticlimactic”. Although it relied on its unique design and fun to win a lot of attention and orders in the early days, as its manufacturing quality problems gradually emerged, it was no longer interesting. The sports car eventually went into decline amidst the sharp decline in sales.

The author has no way to personally experience the joy of controlling the Smart Roadster, let alone know whether the quality of the Smart Roadster is as bad as the legend says, but I can be sure that the Smart Roadster is definitely the most memorable car in the history of mini cars. A "performance car".

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.