SECMA F16 Roadster Now in Germany

Secma F16, a French-built roadster is slowly taking over Europe. Available in France from late 2008 and in UK since last month, the tiny mixture of a beach buggy, an Ariel Atom and a KTM X-Bow has now arrived in Germany.

As tiny as the vehicle are also the prices announced for the German customers. According to carscoop.blogspot.com, at only €17,990 (US equivalent of $24,400), enthusiasts can get their hands on this lightweight roadster.

Though the F16 has SmartForTwo proportions, specialists fear it could have less track-day credibility. The two seater convertible sports vehicle is just 275cm long, 560kg in weight, 110 in height and fairly basic. It has leather sports style seats and adjustable pedals ... and that’s about it. Secma’s bodywork is made of moulded polyethylene central cell mounted on an anti-corrosion chassis.

The 1.6-liter Renault 4 cylinder engine powering the Secma F16 track car produces only 105 HP and reaches a top speed of 110mph, but it's mounted in the back for 40/60 front/rear weight distribution and Porsche-like handling. And with only 1.6l engine it won't take you to the sky, but will get you from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5.9 seconds.

For a bit of technical details, we can tell you the F16 has a rear wheel drive Renault 5 speed manual with reverse, a stainless steel catalytic, Euro 4-compliant exhaust and 155g/km of CO2 emissions. As for the brakes, the four-wheeled ‘toy’ has dual circuit brakes. The suspensions are double wishbone in the front and trailing arm in the rear, all hydraulic shock absorbers.

Little by little (literally speaking), the tiny roadster cuts its way through Europe, taking one country at a time. In France and the UK it's already a success, and now Germany waits to see the impact of the F16. As they say, strong essences come in small bottles ...