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As with other Smarts, Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) comes as standard. ESP includes ABS, Brake Assist, and EBD functions. ESP also helps the car follow the direction in which the driver steers, even at the limit of stability. It throttles down the engine and selective brakes individual wheels to limit plowing of the front end (understeer) or pushing out of the tail end (oversteer). As on the M-class, ESP also acts as a limited-slip differential. If a wheel is beginning to slip, the ESP applies the brake there, allowing the torque to be channeled to the wheels with more traction. If all of this sounds too tame, the mad engineers at Brabus have been working on Smart cars for some months now, turning the City Coupe into some kind of angry athletic shoe. They've also hunkered down to turn the roadster-coupé into a barmy roller skate—a very fast one. For starters they've joined two Smart triples into a twin-turbo V6 engine generating 170 hp and 215 Nm. 0-100 km/h suddenly drops to less than six seconds, and top speed shoots up to 225 km/h. Only eight of these roadsters were built, and reaction has so far been encouraging. If Brabus can resolve some of the packaging problems of their concept cars, such as relocating the fuel tank from its position inside the front luggage compartment, then a run of several thousand roadsters can be produced. Other mid-engined roadsters from Stuttgart had better watch their mirrors. Smart is certainly proving its concept quite viable. Mercedes-Benz power, engineering and safety features are no small part of that. We can attest that the city cabrio is not a particularly quick car, but its compact size, funky interior and civilized road manners lends it a certain attraction. That attraction now comes to fever pitch in the roadster, a car that you'd want to own just because you can then drive it any time you want to. The car fits the bill of the classic roadster: lightweight chassis, agile handling, and striking good looks. Add a twist of Smart, and you get the most radical roadster ever to hit the road. |
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