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Smart roadsters to be revived

Smart's neatly conceived but less than ideally executed Roadster and Roadster Coupe models have received a reprieve, but not from their original maker. Smart has signed a 'memorandum of understanding' with Project Kimber for the British consortium to take over the manufacture and marketing of the two compact sports cars; Kimber was created by corporate troubleshooter David James initially to rescue the MG brand.

30th March 2006

One of the conditions of the deal is that Kimber renames the cars, but while the consortium is in ongoing negotiations with Nanjing Automotive (buyer of MG-Rover) about acquiring the MG brand, it seems unlikely that the Chinese will relinquish the emotive badge.

It seems that Kimber is also looking to do a deal with Mitsubishi for supply of the three-cylinder engine soon to be used in the second-generation Smart ForTwo, and at the same time hopes to bin the Roadster's dismal auto box and swap it for a manual; that change alone should help unleash the car's full dynamic potential.

If the deal goes ahead, Kimber hopes to have a car ready for next year's Geneva show and plans to make 7000 in the first full year of production, rising to around 11,000 by the third year. Factory sites are still under discussion; possibilities include the old Fort Dunlop in the Midlands; a site in Wales near Ford's Bridgend plant; or eastern Germany.

Before shutting down the production line on the Roadster and Roadster Coupe, Smart - a division of DaimlerChrysler that is yet to make a profit - will produce a run-out model called the 'Collectors' Edition'.