2008 Smart Fortwo When it comes to being different, nothing grabs more attention than the Smart car. "One day I pulled up next to a Ferrari with our yellow Smart. Everybody on the sidewalk pointed at my car, some even yelled compliments to me. The Ferrari owner sat there with a `what the hell' expression on his face. These cars are true head-turners and absolutely fun to drive," said Boris Tilim of Smart Madness.
If you missed our initial review and test-drive of the Smart Fortwo in et 2/08, don't fret because the article can be found online at www.eurotuner.com But to quickly remind you, the Smart is designed and built in Europe. The Smart brand started in '93 as a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Swatch. Using the expert automotive engineering of Mercedes with the design influences of the Swatch watch company, the idea was to make the perfect city car. The result was a two-seat coupe shaped to fit in any parking space and maneuver around Europe's tight city streets. Fuel economy also excelled and the latest model flaunts 33/41mpg. Sales of the first Smart began in '98 across Europe, and the company continued to expand by introducing several concepts and a second-generation model in '06 (which finally hit US shores in 2008).
Of the trio featured here, two of them show off the tuning capabilities of the newer-generation Smart Fortwo available to North America. The pair belongs to Smart Madness, (www.smartmadness.com) a company dedicated to personalizing Smart Cars. They've quickly become a source of Smart parts across the US and, if you're local in SoCal, its shop offers full service with parts installation, paint and bodywork, maintenance and engine upgrades as well.
The third of the tiny trio is an anomaly. Sean Alinaghian owns this first-generation '02 coupe, which was imported from Europe years ago and was passed around among a group of friends. With no parts readily available in the US, Sean fought adversity to build the most unique Smart outside of Europe and Asia.
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