Smart Roadster Coupe
The Smart Roadster was a two-door microcar that was introduced in 2003 by the German-based car company, Smart GmbH. It was developed as a potential successor to the earlier Smart City Coupe (later known as the Fortwo). Unfortunately, production of the Roadster and its Coupe version had to be discontinued in 2005 due to low sales.
History
Before the Roadster debuted, the Smart City Coupe had been released to the public in 1998, at the Paris Motor Show. Despite being marketed as a revolutionary vehicle, the Coupe gained public criticism due to the stability issues it had prior to its launch. This, combined with its elitist image, did not bode well and led to the production estimates being reduced to just 80k cars per year.
Design & Development
In 1998, Smart's design and engineering team began creating sketches for their potential future cars. They eventually realised the City Coupe's powertrain would be a great fit for a small sports car, with a turbo engine powering the rear wheels via a 6-speed gearbox. This eventually evolved into the Roadster.
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