CarBrandLogos archive · Smart · 2003

SmartRoadster

700 cc, mid-engined, and about 800 kg: a 1960s sports car idea in 2003 form.

Photo: Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Smart history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Smart Roadster, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The Roadster was Smart's argument that a sports car does not need power. Built at Hambach from 2002, it used a 698 cc turbocharged three-cylinder mounted behind the seats driving the rear wheels through a six-speed automated manual, wrapped in a body barely longer than three metres and weighing very little.

Smart Coupe

Design and engineering

The result was fast nowhere and enjoyable everywhere. Grip was modest, the seats were close to the ground, and the whole car had the low-power, high-involvement character of a Sprite or an early Elan, which is precisely what its designers under Volker Leutz had intended. A Coupe version added a fixed roof and a glass tailgate, and Brabus offered a hotter edition.

Smart Roadster Coupe 2 · D4m1en · CC BY-SA 3.0

2004 Smart Roadster Speedsilver Automatic 700cc Rear

In production

It was also badly made in one specific and expensive way: the cars leaked. Water ingress caused persistent electrical faults and the warranty claims ran high enough that DaimlerChrysler concluded each car was losing money. Production stopped in November 2005 after 43,091 had been built, part of the same restructuring that killed the Forfour. Values have since climbed, because nobody has built anything quite like it since.

2004 Smart Roadster Speedsilver Automatic 700cc Rear · Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Engine

698&nbsp

Designer

Volker Leutz

Body

2-door roadster

Technical specification

The Roadster, in detail.

Production: August 2002 – November 2005; 43,091 made
Class: Sports car (S)
Body style: 2-door roadster (Roadster); 2-door fastback coupe (Roadster Coupe)
Layout: Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Engine: 698 cc M160 turbo I3 (petrol)
Transmission: 6-speed automated manual
Designer: Volker Leutz
Assembly: France: Hambach (Smartville)
Manufacturer: Smart GmbH