2016 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe on 2040-cars

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Smart brings back the 1970s with a fabric-covered hardtop

In a move that only makes sense to Daimler, the Germans are bringing back a style we all thought was finally dead. Yes, starting in September, a fabric-covered hard top will be standard on the Smart Fortwo coupe. Smart announced today a number up updates for the current generation of Fortwo. At the top, literally and figuratively, is a black-fabric roof that will be standard equipment on all Fortwo coupes. For Brabus owners that feel they're missing out, the fabric roof is a no-cost option that replaces the panoramic glass roof. This isn't a cabriolet or a soft targa. It's just a standard hard top with a cloth covering. Other updates to the Fortwo don't seem so left field. A new LED lighting and sensor package will be available. A new child seat fastening system will be standard. A number of new color and wheel options will be available on various models. Opera windows don't seem to be an option, but we can't discount the possibility for a future update. Smart has only revealed one photo of the cloth top, so it's not clear how the design will look on what is already an interesting-looking car. Smart claim its blurring the borders between a soft top and a solid roof. Really, it just seems that they're blurring the already murky line between retro and ridiculous. No one's been pining for a return to 1970s automotive styling. Related Video: News Source: Daimler Design/Style smart Coupe

Smart Fortwo Edition Moscot is a strange collaboration

If you happen to be the type who prefers your eyeglasses to match your car, we have great news: Smart has teamed up with Moscot of New York City to create the Smart Fortwo Edition Moscot. The black and yellow (black and yellow, black and yellow...) cabriolet is likely to be the last and final version of the long-running first-generation city car, as a new model is right around the corner. It doesn't happen often, but we're really at a loss for words on how best to describe this offbeat collaboration, so here's a statement from Dr. Annette Winkler, Head of Smart: "The 'Smart Fortwo Edition Moscot' and the 'Lemtosh smart' eyeglasses look great. I'm also particularly delighted by the way they combine to showcase the urban lifestyle and our smart attitude to perfection." So, there you have it. Urban lifestyle, smart attitude and perfection, all wrapped up in one microcar package. Feel free to read more in the press release down below, and be sure to check out our high-res image gallery of live photos above. smart fortwo edition MOSCOT: Special edition smart fortwo cabrio with cult appeal Milan/Geneva, Feb 28, 2015 smart and MOSCOT invite fans to "Keep moving–stay original!," with the introduction of the new black and yellow "smart fortwo edition MOSCOT". It will be produced in a limited run of 100 units. Also new are "The LEMTOSH smart" eyeglasses in coordinating colours, and "The MOSCOT smart Drive Package" featuring three clip-on sun lenses for perfect vision on the road in all weather conditions. The world premiere takes place in Milan/Italy on 28 February 2015 at the "MOSCOT 100-Year Anniversary Party," at the "Officine Del Volo" against the backdrop of the MIDO eyewear fair. The "smart fortwo edition MOSCOT" will make its second major appearance at the Geneva Motor Show (5 to 15 March 2015). The exclusive two-seater cabrio with the BRABUS 75 kW turbo engine is available in Germany at prices starting from ˆ29,524 (recommended retail price including 19% VAT). The first vehicles will be delivered to customers in early summer. To mark the 100th anniversary of MOSCOT and the impending finale of the current smart cabrio, smart, the Stuttgart-based car brand for urban mobility, and MOSCOT, the New York City eyewear institution, joined forces to produce the special "smart fortwo edition MOSCOT" featuring a striking black and yellow colour scheme in a limited run of 100 units.

Junkyard Gem: 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion

Even as American drivers tended to choose increasingly massive trucks for their daily commutes, Daimler AG decided that money could be made selling a microscopic two-seater with a 73-1/2" wheelbase here. Sales never met Stuttgart's expectations, but sufficient Smart Fortwos were sold to Americans that used-up examples show up occasionally in the car graveyards I frequent. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of the Fortwos sold here during its optimistic first model year, found in a boneyard in Tulsa, Oklahoma last month. Many European cities allow perpendicular parking on streets for vehicles as short as the Fortwo, which meant that drivers could squeeze two Fortwos into a space that would fit just a single parallel-parked ordinary car. For the most part, this parking method couldn't be done legally in the United States, negating the Smart's primary practicality advantage. Fuel economy wasn't great for such a tiny machine: 33 mph city, 40 mpg highway, worse than the gas mileage of both the 2008 Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid. Still, fuel prices spiked hard in 2008, with average per-gallon cost of gasoline hitting $4.11 in July of that year (about $5.91 in 2023 dollars), and the Fortwo's decent fuel economy must have helped sales. The curb weight of the '08 Fortwo was just a bit over 1,800 pounds, or about the same as a mid-1980s Honda Civic. In fact, this car's 70 horsepower falls neatly between the 60 horses of the 1985 Honda Civic 1300 and the 76 horses of the 1985 Honda Civic 1500. This car was optimized for one trait, at which it excelled: short overall length. It's even shorter than Japan's kei specifications (its width is too great to allow it to be registered as a kei car in Japan, though Smart eventually made a narrowed Japanese-market version). As the owner and daily driver of a genuine kei van (which gets 60 mpg in town and seats four), the only thing I envy about the Fortwo is its superior highway-speed capability. That's the advantage of a mighty 999cc Mitsubishi three-cylinder over a kei-compliant 658cc Subaru four-cylinder. This is the Passion trim level, which came with air conditioning and this sunroof. The MSRP was $13,590, or about $19,531 in 2023 dollars. It appears that the driver's airbag deployed at some point and was then taped up. That crash damage may have been what doomed this car. After taking a shot at selling electric Fortwos here, Smart gave up on the US-market Fortwo after 2019.