You Can Now Buy A Smart Roadster For Less Than £2k
While I can’t help but admire the madness behind the TDI-swapped Smart ForTwo we were taking a look at earlier this week, it’s not how I’d choose to get my kicks from one of the Daimler division’s early cars. Nope: I’d get a Roadster.
Confusingly offered as a Roadster or a Roadster Coupe - which combined the same targa top arrangement with a breadvan-shaped glasshouse sitting on the back - these pint-sized sports cars are now seriously cheap. As in sub-£2000 cheap.
On our classifieds trawl we did get a little carried away, and rather than picking one of the cheapest ones, we upped the imaginary budget a bit and plucked out this £3349 Brabus Roadster for closer inspection.
These benefit from a more powerful version of the mid-range 700cc turbocharged inline-three, pumping out a heady, umm, 99bhp. Even with a low kerb weight these aren’t exactly fast, with the sluggish six-speed sequential gearbox contributing to a leisurely 9.5 second 0-60mph time. But as we explained after a recent drive in the new VW Up GTI, there’s more to driving fun than outright speed.
Brabus Roadsters also have a slightly sportier exhaust, a slightly fancier cabin, lower suspension and 17-inch wheels that look comically over-sized on the car’s dinky frame.
If you’re interested in any Smart Roadster, check carefully for leaks. It’s a common and expensive issue to sort, and one that led to the car’s demise in the first place - Daimler was forced to end production following a flood of expensive warranty claims.
But if you do find a good one and take the plunge, hang on to it. Few are left now, and we get the sense that prices at the bottom end are starting to level out. Dare we say it - there might even be some future classic potential here…
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
But that gearbox.
Everything is swappable, and didn’t MK3 MR2 have a equally slow 5 speed robot gearbox
I wouldn’t get one even if THEY paid ME 2000 pounds lol
I love crap cars…but this is a step too far.
Brabus… Mmmmmmmmm
Da’s neat
The engine is in the back, right?
i use to work on these for a living. And yes the gear box can be a pain in the ass. and yes they do leak, like there is no tomorrow. But they are a good laugh to drive and if you can find a remapped one with a few supporting mods they can catch out a few people. The only things to note is they can be expensive service, and engines dont last to long either.
is it just me or does this car look like a mini rx-8?
Descustang
You can now buy a smart roadster for less than 2K but why would you want to
“… they were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should…”
This was from a time when Mercedes sold Mitsubishi engineering at some overpricing range.
Now it looks stupidly cheap (still way too much overpriced anyway for what it is)