This car combines two things that nobody buys in America anymore, smarts and TDI engines. But that doesn't mean we don't like the little dragster.
The versatility of the 1.9 TDI engine is renowned across Europe. In fact, some swear it's more reliable than its modern 2.0 TDI counterpart.
However, the turbodiesel sometimes likes to pretend it's a racing engine. For example, we've seen the old SEAT Ibiza and Skoda Fabia RS belching smoke down the drag strip.
But this isn't a Skoda or SEAT; it's a freaking smart fortwo and a pretty old one at that. The humble 2-seater was conceived by Daimler as a solution to the urban mobility problem. Of course, it never really caught on, partly because of all the little quirks the car has.
We doubt the dodgy automated manual gearbox survived the transition into a dragster. The rear end of the fortwo has swelled up, like that of a baboon in heat. The 1.9 TDI is a pretty big engine, and it was probably dropped in together with its original gearbox and mounts.
Power still goes to the rear. We don't know how much torque it's putting out, but based on the 230 HP output, there should be more than 400 Nm. In any case, a wheely bar was needed to stop the car from flipping over.
The little beast managed to do quarter mile passes in around 14 seconds at 170 km/h (105mph). That's not bad, considering the regular smart struggled above 100 km/h.
Heavily modified, the wee scamper boasts flared wheel arches and much wider tires at the back. There's a cone filter sticking out the front and an air scoop on top of the roof. However, it's not the only oddity at the Italian Drag Racing Championship. We see a Citroen C2 with massive front tires, some other diesel hatchbacks and way too many ugly Fiats.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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