Manntis

... I found myself looking @ the prototype seats for the proposed SMART roadster, thinking "Those would look good in an FB"...



(captured from their FLASH info by yours truly)

357

Hmmm.... maybe
Those are just waaaaaay too modern for my car.
Are they hard plastic? They sure look like it.

Directfreak

iTrader: (2)

Fugly.

Suparslinc

whats a smart roadster

Manntis

They're clay. This is a concept buck.

The SMART is a car made by Daimler-Chrysler for the European market, 2.5m long (about 7 2/3 feet) that is really boxy but "practical" as a commuter car.

The SMART roadster is a low slung 2 seater concept based on the same platform, and from some angles doesn't look 1/2 bad.







Remember: this car is less than 8 feet long...

Keaponlaffen

Hmmm.... that looks..... weird....

It'd be the kinda styling that you'd either love or hate.

But those seats... are....

UGLY!

Lol

Jeff

Manntis

the whole center part of the seat is mesh (at least they are on the other seat design in the production SMART). Ultra light-weight & functional.

I guess that's why I like 'em

fatboy7

Interesting concept, I think its not too bad, especially considering the other sub-compacts that they have going on in europe. (When I was in russia, they still had these nasty little cars that looked like you could push them faster than the little 2 cyl engine could pull it... LOL)

nimrodTT

Oh yeah, that's ******* sweet! Too bad it's a concept, and too bad it's not available here.

rotary emotions

The Smart roadster is not just a concept, they really will produce it. Actually they already do. I saw one in Aachen, Germany, last weekend, with saying "test car" on it. Ain't that cool?
Anyway, the roadster and roadster coupe are based on the original Smart (now called CitySmart) and use the same triton-safetycage, and engine. But as far as I know they are longer then the original. And lower, too. I found that car extremely low compared to the original Smart. It does look great though. If you know big Mercedes-enz cars, you'll also know Brabus, the famous Merc-tuner (they have 7.something liter V12's). Well, they offer a performance mod on the 3 cylinder Smart engine...

MikeLMR

yep, more than a concept ... my mate saw a few when he was on holiday somewhere (can't think of the name right now )

FD Racer

If I needed new seats really bad, and if those were a lot lighter, and if got them for cheap......then hell, I'd put them in.

Manntis

Not surprised Brabus has an option on that li'l 60 HP 3 banger... but wouldn't a TII rotary in that chassis be sweet?

I did some more digging and you're right, the roadster is longer - instead of the standard SMART length, it's a massive 7.5 feet long

Defprun

How heavy are the seats compared to stock 3rd gen ones? Would they be lighter than say some recaro bucket racing seats???

mar3

iTrader: (8)

Urp...

Project84

Its all well and good to save the environment and make less pollution, buy why does saving the environment have to be so ******* ugly? There hasn't been a concept car, hybrid car, or electric motor car that didn't look like a terd that was squeezed out of a square *******. These new cars are all so squatty and boxy looking its rediculous. Why can't they look like '89 trans ams?

Just my $.02

Kai

Because 89 Trans Ams are ugly! IMHO, that is. I think it would be great if there was one that looked like a '68 Fury... I would love to see a hybrid engine pull that chassis around If not that, at least a '69 Roadrunner

rotary emotions

Well, obviously, taste is very personal...
As for TII into Smart...have a go. I'm knda thinking you'll need a trailer to mount the engine on though.
Smarts have pretty small engines, even a rotary is big there. Maybe a special single rotor would fit? They're too expensive too mess with so I'm not gonna try...
Anyone else?

Manntis

They''re only $16,000 USD... and think of the power to weight ratio.

It would be a tight squeeze, though. Perhaps a 13B N/A would be more appropriate (and still more than double the shetland ponies under the hood currently)

DJ Rotor

10.5' long

http://www.carenthusiast.com/ncar2509/smart_s.htm

lotsa room, stick a 20B in there

rotary emotions

I was thinking of the "real" smart, and I believe that would leave less room for the 20B :-)
I think $16.000 pretty heavy for car this size and engine... Plus the 13B (or wathever rotary you put in there)... And, they're front drive...

lotsacars

I'd take a set of those seats except that clay probably wouldn't be my fabric of choice That and it looks like the head restraint portion of the seat is cocked forward quite a bit.

I think MBenz had a seat in which the center section was mesh. I think that would be great - the ultimate in breathability and comfort. My old office chair was made of mesh and I could surf the web all day in that thing

Manntis

it's actually rear wheel drive. The engine is in back, between the rear wheels, and on the Daimler Chrysler site they state "rear wheel drive" (http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/index.../ias2000_e.htm)

if one were to get one and replace the engine with a 13B, sure there's the cost of the rotary but you still have the 3 gyl Mercedes SUPREX turbo engine that you could unload on a Chevette or Festiva owner to recoup some $

rotary emotions

Sorry, my mistake... Of course rear wheel drive... It's just that the link DJ Rotor gave us, there it states FWD, and I didn't think hard enough... Plenty of Smarts (citysmarts) overhere, so I should have remembered...
Anyway, same problem: everything is in the rear end, how you are going to mate the 13B to the Smart gearbox??? If you try, let us know! It would gve some serious power to weight ratio...

Manntis

Probably have to ditch the 6-speed gearbox in there, as it's only rated for 60 HP... might use the gearbox out of a new Mini or something...