CAR News

smart and the street fashion brand WeSC have joined forces in a partnership and will be presenting what are quite literally the golden results of their work from 13 September at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt: the ” smart BRABUS tailor made by WeSC” and the “headphones for the smart by WeSC”.

WeSC have selected classic elements with elegant colour contrasting from the countless individualisation options in the smart BRABUS tailor-made range: the smart fortwo cabrio is painted in gold shades all over, partly matt, partly high-gloss, and all the colours have been created for the Swedish label by the car tuner BRABUS. The jet
black wheels and the leather seats with crossways quilting bear the unmistakeable signature of the streetstyle experts. Meanwhile smart took care of the design of the 32-ohm headphones from WeSC, giving a nod to the car’s look, as can be seen in the perforated black ear pads and high-gloss golden highlights.

The headphones will be available from spring 2012 via http://shop.wesc.com/ and in WeSC shops and Concept Stores all over the world. The golden city runabout will also be seen on the streets then, and advance orders can be placed via BRABUS with immediate effect. The equipment of the “smart BRABUS tailor made by WeSC” includes air conditioning, the leather BRABUS sports steering wheel with steering wheel gearshift, the 75 kW engine with turbocharging and lots of other features. The gold-plated horse-head knob, which adorns the shift lever of the WeSC original, is a one-off and not for order.

2011 Smart ForTwo NightOrange

smart is ringing in the spring with a fresh colour: the new limited special edition smart fortwo nightorange combines bright orange with elegant black. The striking two-seater can be ordered now and will roll to dealers from 22 February 2011. Customers can choose between three variants: two petrol versions and a diesel version and a coupé or cabrio body.

Colour psychologists regard orange as active, confident and trendy, whilst black is seen as resolute, elegant and strong-minded. The limited special edition fortwo nightorange is an exciting mix of both colours and is bursting with urban chic. The most striking feature of the exterior is the exclusive orange metallic finish combined with a black tridion safety cell and black 3-double-spoke alloy wheels fitted with tyres in size 175/55 R15 at the front and 195/50 R15 at the rear. The special edition also features black painted headlamp trims, black mirror caps and nightorange logos in the mirror triangles. The smart fortwo nightorange cabrio has a black soft top.

The interior takes up the colour concept of the body with a design that is both sporty and chic: the black seats in a mix of leather and fabric have an orange sport stripe in the middle, as does the knee pad in leather look. They provide a dramatic contrast to the black door trim and black instrument panel. Contrast components such as the instrument trims are painted in pearl black. The 3-spoke sports steering wheel with steering wheel gearshift and the gear knob are covered with black nappa leather. The audio system basic (RDS radio with AUX/USB interfaces and two loudspeakers) is already on board as a standard feature of the smart fortwo nightorange, as are dashboard instruments (cockpit clock and rev counter).

The new smart fortwo nightorange is based on the passion coupé and passion cabrio. Among other features the passion equipment line comes with softouch automatic gear programme, electric windows, air conditioning with automatic temperature control, and a transparent panoramic roof with sunblind. Options include electric power steering, heated seats, a lockable glove compartment, the smart surround sound system with six loudspeakers or the audio system navigation / multimedia with touchscreen display.
The fortwo nightorange can be ordered with a 52 kW (71 hp) petrol engine with micro hybrid drive technology, a 62 kW(84 hp) petrol engine or a 40 kW (54 hp) diesel engine equipped with a diesel particulate filter.

Here are the prices for the new smart fortwo nightorange in Germany:

Engine/power Engine type Engine capacity Price in €
(incl. 19% VAT)
smart fortwo nightorange coupé
1.0 l (52 kW/71 hp) petrol mhd 3-cyl. in-line naturally aspirated engine 999 cc 13,995
1.0 l (62 kW/84 hp)
petrol 3-cyl. in-line turbo engine 999 cc 14,565
0.8 l (40 kW/54 hp)
cdi diesel with diesel particulate filter 3-cyl. common-rail turbo engine 799 cc 15,255
smart fortwo nightorange cabrio
1.0 l (52 kW/71 hp) petrol mhd 3-cyl. in-line naturally aspirated engine 999 cc 17,086
1.0 l (62 kW/84 hp)
petrol 3-cyl. in-line turbo engine 999 cc 17,655
0.8 l (40 kW/54 hp)
cdi diesel with diesel particulate filter 3-cyl. common-rail turbo engine 799 cc 18,345

2011 Smart ForTwo Lightshine Edition

smart is set to be even more of a leading light with the arrival of the smart fortwo lightshine edition.

Based on the passion coupé model, the striking special edition emphasises the enhancements to the latest new generation smart fortwo and reaffirms the cdi model as the CO2 world champion for combustion engine vehicles.

The stunning exterior of the lightshine edition builds on the now standard colour coded front and rear aprons, sideskirts and filler cap of the new passion. Unique to the lightshine edition are the combinationof light green matt body panels, LED daytime running lights, colour coded headlamp bezels, ‘lightshine’ badging and the new pulse 3-double spoke alloys in an exclusive paint finish.

As with the latest smart fortwo, the interior of the lightshine edition benefits from new upper dashboard and glovebox designs along with improved materials and new fabric patterns. The striking special edition also features the passion model’s high line navigation system with a new larger touch screen, CD/DVD/SD functionality and iPod®interface, while interior finishing touches include a sporty 3-spoke steering wheel with paddleshift gear change and floor mats with the ‘lightshine’ logo.

Only 86 of the smart fortwo lightshine edition will be produced for the UK and all will feature the groundbreaking 54bhp cdi engine. Using the softip transmission of the pulse, the lightshine edition emits just 86g/km CO2 – the lowest figure in the world for a combustion engine car.

“The smart fortwo lightshine edition epitomises the values of smart, the model offering an unrivalled fusion of eye-catching style, comfort and environmental compatibility in a fun-to-own and drive package,” saidGary Savage, Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz Cars.

“Based on the cdi, the lightshine edition demonstrates how the innovative brand continually evolves to meet customers’ requirements, the special edition being the perfect choice for today’s car buyers who wish to drive something that is both unique and entertaining but who do not wish to compromise on economy, practicality and affordability.”

The smart fortwo lightshine edition is priced at £11,405 on-the-road.

2011 Lorinser Easybrid Smart Fortwo

Lorinser presents Easybrid at the Essen Motor Show 2010 – an innovative retrofit hub motor for compact cars

Which driver of a compact car has not already wished for more power in his automobile and if possible without extra fuel consumption and any additional environmental pollution? But up till now, this went hand in hand with the other and therefore such wishes remained unfulfilled. On the Essen Motor Show 2010, Sportservice Lorinser now presents Easybrid as an innovative solution. A retrofit electric hub motor with 30 kW additional effective output, exemplarily fitted in a Smart Fortwo.

Already at the beginning of the 20th century, automobile manufacturers experimented with hub motors and fitted them into their cars – among them also Ferdinand Porsche. Nevertheless, this development was soon destined for obscurity, as the general public rather wanted a combustion engine. Due to the further increasing fuel prices and the current environmental-, climate- and CO2-debates, more and more companies are thinking about the future of individual mobility and display electric cars and hybrid automobiles, yet knowing that these will not get over their concept car status for the time being. Especially German automobile manufacturers seem to have missed the trend and only fit hybrid technology into luxury class automobiles if after all.

But what if it was possible to fit hybrid technology as a retrofit solution into cars which are designed for everybody? Is it after all possible to retrofit compact cars? Would such a modification not be too elaborate and therefore too expensive? Sportservice Lorinser, usually known for its sportive refining of Mercedes Benz automobiles, is now tackling these questions. The company based in Waiblingen / Swabia and its project manager Martin Oberdoerfer-Schmidt conclude: “The modification is possible and can also be performed in an easy and therefore economic way.”

The preconditions are that the automobile in question has to have drum brakes at the rear axle, but this is quite common with small and compact cars. So-called stators are adapted to the braking armature discs. These are accumulated electric coils which are supplied with directed power via control electronics in order to magnetise them and therefore turn the rotor on the wheel hub which is equipped with permanent magnets in rolling direction.

Therefore, any kind of engine, differential and driving shaft becomes unnecessary as the engine directly affects the individual wheel and accelerates it. Altogether, this means that the nominal capacity of the electronic motor is transferred to the road nearly without any frictional loss. With the help of a control unit the power of the hub motors is added to the initial power of the combustion engine. As the modification is usually added to the rear axle, many of the vehicles in question are therefore turned into four wheel drive cars which render additional traction advantages at winter time.

Easybrid supports the existing fuel- or diesel engines of the individual cars and renders an additional power of approximately 30 kW (about 41hp) for improved acceleration- and final speed outputs. At the same time, the consumption- and CO2- levels drop. As electric engines are very powerful and their maximum torque is reached after only one revolution, it is also possible to move these cars solely on an electric basis. With this retrofit solution, Lorinser does not only cover all advantages of modern hybrid acceleration, but also allows the driver to choose his operational mode. Apart from the combination of both engines, he can also opt for either the sole electronic or sole combustion engine. The driver can therefore decide if he wishes to use fuel or electricity or a combination of both.

In order to recharge the lithium ionic batteries of the electric engine which for space saving measures are either stored in the reserve wheel drop or under the vehicle, the automobile can either be connected to a usual socket or use the so-called recuperation during its operation. This means that the energy which is generated during braking and driving downhill recharges the batteries. Therefore, the car can run approximately 30 kilometres on sole electric power and depending on the model far than 500 kilometres with the combined hybrid mode. In a combination with modern turbodiesel engines, even wider distances are possible.

On the Essen Motor Show 2010 which starts on November 27th, Lorinser will introduce a first driveable prototype based on a Smart Fortwo with a retrofit hub motor. Further possible models suitable would be the Volkswagen Polo, the Renault Twingo or the Fiat 500. Also older models are suitable and in future, Lorinser will develop solutions for these models as well. Already since May 2009, the Lorinser engineers have been co-operating with external development partners on the retrofit hub motors and prototypes which were equipped with such technology. The test period will be ending by mid 2011 and from then on, it will be possible to equip first customer cars.

But of course, such a modification for compact cars only makes sense if it does not exceed the value of the automobile. Therefore, Sportservice Lorinser has revised the overall project and added an innovative idea. Following the offer for mobile phones, contracts can be introduced which bind a customer to an energy provider owning the batteries of the car on a long-term basis. The energy provider could therefore use its own battery as energy storage for vehicle-to-grid concepts and the car driver could pay the batteries by an increased energy price. Thereby, Lorinser pays tribute to the fact that mobility will not become any cheaper in future, but battery prices will significantly drop and fuel prices will surely increase.

Therefore, it is interesting for both parties – the drivers of electric- and hybrid cars as well as the utility companies. The latter could even introduce an energy flat rate for corporate clients with a fleet of electric automobiles. Such concepts are momentarily discussed with energy suppliers.

With such a battery financing concept between supplier and consumer, the modification of a compact car could come down to about EUR 5,000. If the government should participate in subsidising the lower CO2-emissions by putting an extra tax on automobiles with less favourable values, the effective costs for the hub motor retrofit could be even further reduced.