Happy tenth birthday to the smart fortwo
from Automotive (1677 articles)
Click image to enlarge
September 4, 2008 Ten years ago the smart fortwo was launched to a world market decidedly unsure about the highly unusual two-seater that was just two and a half metres in length. It could fit into less than half a parking space, took two people and their luggage quite comfortably and had impressively low fuel consumption and minimum carbon dioxide emissions. The degree of foresight in the design will be judged most kindly by history given the issues of global warming, road congestion, and the effect the laws of supply and demand have had on fuel pricing. Throw in the car’s safety and technical innovations and a design that combines functionality with joie de vivre and the smart fortwo deserves a warm round of applause on its automotive coming of age.
After ten years on the market the smart fortwo can be proud of its achievements. Since the first model was introduced in 1998 in excess of one million have been produced. Whereas the smart fortwo was initially only offered for sale in Germany and eight further European countries, today it is available in 37 countries worldwide, and since January of this year, also in the USA. 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 megacities. In China, too, fashion-conscious young people want an agile, trendy vehicle for their flexible urban lifestyles in order to set themselves apart from others.
Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars says "In China we are seeing growing interest from customers in our high-quality and low consumption smart fortwo. I am sure that many cosmopolitan customers in China's cities will soon come to love its unique concept. For in addition to its outstanding safety equipment and the typical design, the fortwo naturally also boasts top quality and reliability."
The second generation continues the success story
The second generation of the smart fortwo has been on the market since the spring of 2007. It clearly continues the tradition of its predecessor and the fascinating smart story. The car continues to focus on the core brand values of innovation, functionality and joie de vivre – a kind of declaration of automotive independence for many smart drivers.
Anders Sundt Jensen, responsible for the smart brand says "The new fortwo is even more comfortable, agile, safe and environmentally friendly than its successful predecessor was. The new fortwo does not only appeal to smart fans as a lifestyle-oriented vehicle, but also on account of its unparalleled economy."
A trend-setting appearance with new ideas
The smart fortwo embodies a completely new, intelligent concept for automotive individuality and this is also reflected in its appearance with a fresh, young, modern yet sophisticated design language. And although there were no automotive role models that the designers could have referred to, the two-seater set visual trends and created its own class thanks to a whole host of unusual ideas. In the past ten years the smart has become an automotive icon and it combines extremely varied demands on function, aesthetics and safety technology to create something completely new.
The result is a bold design that confidently makes structural elements such as the tridion safety cell a significant part of the car's styling. There could hardly be a more eloquent expression of that most basic principle of design, that form must follow function.
Share this article
