smart ForTwo Design Analysis

Press Release

Striking a balance between desire and feasibility: The smart genes

What is success? There are hundreds of thousands of answers to this question – none of which holds true for everyone. Only in biology is the answer relatively simple: success means survival. And a species whose only remaining habitat is in the museum obviously set off down the wrong road at some point. It simply had the wrong genes.

So which are the right genes? The ones that guarantee success. And they do this when they harbour the solutions to the questions of the times.

But is that also true for cars?

It’s certainly true that every car also has characteristics which make it a car and others which distinguish it from all other models. Cars also have close brothers and sisters and distant relatives, and come from distinctive families. Some are well equipped for the evolutionary process, while others have missed the turn-off into the future. Was it perhaps down to their outdated DNA? And if so: How do we recognise the genes of the future?

By considering the success story of the smart car company, for example. There’s no better basis on which to study a car’s genes and DNA. The brand simply oozes individuality, and its genes are so obviously in evidence – which explains why no other small car on the road attracts so much admiring attention as the smart fortwo. This is not merely an assertion. No other car in Germany is decked out so frequently with advertising - and advertisers only chose media which are sure to put their messages across. The smart fortwo fits the bill here. Ever since its launch eight years ago, the car has been an absolute eye-catcher on our roads.

So let’s take a closer look: What is it exactly that makes this car a smart? What distinguishes the smart fortwo from all other cars? And how come it is based on a successful, future-oriented concept that really works? What defines the limits of the designers’ desires and dreams? What is still within the realms of the possible – and what is simply unrealistic?

Let’s adopt a scientific approach and begin with the fundamentals: What makes a car a car is three or four wheels, an engine and two windscreen wipers for clear vision. That’s the material side of the equation. And then there’s the essential ability to transport at least one person from one place to another.

But here we’re interested in the specifics of a smart: There are, to be precise, four different genes that define and at the same time limit the vehicle’s design. Two concern the hardware and two are of a conceptual nature. Let’s begin with the most immediately striking element of every smart’s appearance and structural design: the tridion safety cell.

The tridion was invented in the course of developing the smart fortwo, when the designers were faced with the apparently insoluble task of building a small car which is as safe as a large car, but as small as the latter’s luggage compartment. They came upon the solution when they started doing their sums: Whatever direction the other vehicle involved in an accident comes from, on a vehicle this short it will always hit at least one wheel and one axle. And so the engineers and designers drew up plans for an extremely rigid safety cage, which they called the tridion, and as a crumple zone they used wheels and axles. In crash tests the fortwo repeatedly emerged as best-in-class in terms of safety. The engineers subsequently adopted the cage as the essential, load-bearing element of the smart. This also had consequences for the remainder of the vehicle.

The bodypanels and the resultant two-colour look are the second gene which immediately distinguishes (almost) every smart from all other cars. Of course, every so often a customer will opt for the combination of black tridion with black bodypanels, or silver tridion with silver bodypanels – combinations that are still perfectly in line with the two-material concept that is inherent in every smart vehicle. It’s just that in these cases, a little more attention is required to spot it.

The third gene is more difficult to define, although it is immediately evident in every model. In unscientific terms, it could be described as “emotional design” - or an “automotive affirmation of life”. This is not the run of the mill. There are cars on our roads that look like giant frowns captured in metal, or biceps pumped up on steroids. smart, on the other hand, is a “smiling face on wheels”. Here again, the conflict between the will of the designer and the reality of what can be manufactured is often substantial. That’s because between the designing and the building of a car there are other weighty matters that need to be considered, including crash safety, vehicle ergonomics, choice of materials and the feasibility of production. Not until this controversy has been overcome through a long, painstaking process involving all of the relevant disciplines can a car – a smart – be created that bears the smart genes yet can realistically be produced.

The "smile" is also expressed on the road. This quintessentially smart driving experience is the fourth gene. It can be summed up as the philosophical principle that driving can be about more than mere transportation. It can also be about fun, for example, or intensity, passion, happiness - and sometimes a notion of a better world. Because a smart is not just safe, agile, and extremely practically oriented – it is also an economic miracle on four wheels. That’s not just in terms of its fuel consumption though – though it sets standards in that area as well. smart spells economy thanks to its intelligent use of parking space, materials and production resources – quite simply by omitting those car seats that you never needed anyway!

Is this overstating the case?

After all, we’re talking about the great issues of our time here. The future of our cities, for example. And the laws of our mobile world. Critical mass on the roads. The point at which populations begin to take out their aggression on themselves.

Our cities are developing along the same lines. Too full, too little space, too many people fighting for the available parking spaces. In traffic, others are experienced not as human beings but as rivals or hindrances. It is difficult for us to find our way out of this spiral and back to the light.

But there are ways out of this dilemma. One goes by the name of the smart fortwo. Finding a parking space is never a problem in this car - and this puts a smile on everyone’s face. Because showing consideration is no longer a sign of weakness. Rather, it’s simply a demonstration of a pleasant and likeable character.

So you don’t consider fun to be a gene? You’re probably right. But it is undoubtedly a unifying element at smart. And proof that cars are a success when they provide answers to the questions of our times. One of which was: “Whatever happened to the smiling motorist?”