The Smart Fortwo is a two seat microcar developed jointly by Mercedes-Benz and the Swatch watch company, launched under the Smart brand in 1998 and built around a very short wheelbase and a rigid passenger safety cell called the Tridion safety cell to allow easy parking and safety in dense European cities. It became one of the most recognizable ultra compact cars sold in Europe and later in North America.
Facts
SignificanceMarketed in 46 countries, with production reaching 1.7 million units by early 2015 and surpassing 2 million units worldwide before third-generation production ended. 1 Manufacturer or BuilderSmart division of the Mercedes-Benz Group (joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Swatch) 1 FAQs
Where do the names Smart and Fortwo come from?
Smart combines Swatch, Mercedes and art; Fortwo refers to its two seats.
The name Smart is a portmanteau from the early joint project between Swatch and Mercedes, combining Swatch, Mercedes and art. The Fortwo part of the name comes from the car's two-person seating capacity. Until 2002 much of the marketing called it the Smart City-Coupé.
Connections
In the Other Atlases
Manufactured By
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Smart Fortwo
Wikipedialead section, para 1, sentence 1
manufactured and marketed by the Smart division of the Mercedes-Benz Group for model years 1998
lead section, para 2, sentence 1
The first generation Smart ForTwo (a joint venture project between Mercedes-Benz and Swatch) was internally designated as the W450, and was publicly launched at the 1998 Paris Motor Show.
lead section, para 3, sales sentence
Sales wise, the ForTwo was marketed in 46 countries worldwide, allowing Fortwo production to reach 1.7 million units by early 2015, and going on to surpass 2 million units globally, before end of 3rd generation production.
View the Source Mitsubishi 3B2 engine (Wikipedia)
Has Part: Mitsubishi 3B2 engine, 3B21 applicationsQuote, Has Part: Mitsubishi 3B2 engine, 3B21 applications
2007 - 2014 Smart Fortwo
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.