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Ten years ago, one of the world's most unusual production vehicles was launched on the market. Today, thanks to technical
innovations and a design that combines functionality with joie de vivre, the smart fortwo has become a cult car.
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After a decade on the market, the smart fortwo can be proud of its achievements. Since introduction, more than one million
have been produced and the vehicle is sold in 37 countries worldwide. From mid-2009 the smart fortwo will also go on sale in
China, as the car is practically tailor-made for the growing number of lifestyle-oriented small car customers in a country
with numerous mega cities.
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A trendsetter
The smart fortwo embodies an intelligent concept for automotive individuality and this is also reflected in its appearance
with a fresh, young, modern yet sophisticated design language.
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The smart fortwo is seen as a real trendsetter in terms of safety equipment in small cars. The tridion safety cell protects
its occupants like the hard shell around a nut. In this way it also meets the extremely strict standards of Mercedes-Benz
Cars. Moreover, it complies with American crash requirements and attained top ratings in US-SINCAP and EuroNCAP (four stars).
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The basic equipment of the smart fortwo includes full-size airbags for driver and passenger, belt tensioners and belt-force
limiters. Head/thorax side airbags are available as an option, while esp® comes as standard. The esp® includes hill-start
assist and the anti-lock braking system abs. A hydraulic brake assist function is also part of the standard specification.
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User-friendly gear shifting
The smart fortwo is fitted with an automated manual five-speed transmission (softip) as a standard feature, which means that
there is no clutch pedal. To shift up a gear, the shift lever on the centre console merely requires a brief tap forwards, while
pulling it back shifts down a gear.
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History of the smart fortwo
As early as the early 1970s developers at Mercedes-Benz started working on the "car of the future" and considering new revolutionary
approaches that eventually led to the concept of an ultra-compact car two and a half metres long. Several years passed until the pioneering
safety concept was developed that allowed the high level of safety typical of Mercedes to be realised in an extremely short car.
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In 1989 Nicolas G. Hayek, the inventor of the Swatch watch, announced plans to launch a small city car on the market. To realise this idea
Nicolas Hayek turned to Mercedes-Benz as an experienced partner. Together, both partners founded Micro Compact Car AG with headquarters in Biel,
Switzerland.
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Finally, in 1997 the smart city coupé celebrated its world premiere at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. Production and sales started in 1998. In
the same year, smart became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler-Benz AG (now Daimler AG).
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Get to know the smart fortwo better at Mercedes-Benz Century City.
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