Smart Fortwo
| Smart Fortwo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Daimler-Benz (1998) DaimlerChrysler (1998–2007) Daimler AG (2007–2022) Mercedes-Benz Group (2022–2024) |
| Also called | Smart City-Coupé (1998–2002) Smart car (colloquially) |
| Production | 1998–2006 (MkI) 2006–2014 (MkII) 2014–2024 (MkIII) |
| Assembly | France: Hambach (Smartville) |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | City car Microcar |
| Body style | 3-door hatchback 2-door convertible |
| Layout | Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive Rear-motor, rear-wheel-drive (electric version) |
| Related | Smart Roadster Smart Forfour |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Smart #2 |
The Smart Fortwo (stylized as "smart fortwo") is a two-seater city car manufactured and marketed by the Smart division of the Mercedes-Benz Group for model years 1998–2024. The car was sold across three generations — each using a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and a (generally) one-box design body shape. Much like the original Volkswagen Beetle decades earlier, the Smart car's identity is interchangeably associated with both its brand name and its model name.
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. The redesigned (but visually similarly-shaped) second generation W451 would debut 8 years later, at the 2006 Bologna Motor Show. Subsequently, the third (and currently final) generation Fortwo was the C453 build series. It debuted globally on July 16, 2014, at the Tempodrom in Berlin. Incidentally, these third generation coupe and convertibles debuted along with a closely related four-door version. And while the four door carried the previously-used Smart Forfour name, this generation of smart cars was actually co-developed (sharing the same platform and engines) with the third-generation Renault Twingo.
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.
As for origin of the brand name itself, the Smart moniker was derived as a portmanteau of three words from the project's early history as a cooperative design and engineering venture between Swatch and Mercedes resuling in the words: Swatch, Mercedes, and ART merging to simply become 'Smart'. Subsequently, the Fortwo model nameplate derives from the vehicle's two-person seating capacity. (In much of the marketing up until 2002 however, the Fortwo had been marketed as the "Smart City-Coupé"). Following this theme, the larger Smart car received the "ForFour" name, to emphasize that model's intended size/capacity.
As a note, a low-slung, somewhat related Roadster/coupe-style car, simply called the (R452/C452) 'Smart Roadster' was also produced early on in the 2000s, but it did not sell in great volumes and did not see a second generation. Incidentally, a mechanically unrelated and even larger 4-door off-road/crossover Smart was designed and developed in-house by Mercedes, and may or may not have been based on the then-outgoing W203 C-class platform. But this vehicle (called the Smart "ForMore") was ultimately canceled at the last moment, due to a number of factors, including but not limited to the global financial crisis around the year 2008 or so.