Smart Forfour

Smart Forfour was a supermini produced by Smart between April 2004 and June 2006. Unlike the other models of the marque, the Forfour was a more conventional five-door hatchback with a relatively roomy interior, available as a four or five seater.

The car was produced at the NedCar factory in the Netherlands in conjunction with Mitsubishi Motors. This is the same factory that produced Volvo 300 cars in 1970s and 1980s and the Volvo V40s in the 1990s. To save production costs, the Smart Forfour shares most of its components with the 2003 Mitsubishi Colt. This includes the chassis, suspension and a new generation of MIVEC petrol engines, ranging from the three cylinder 1.1 L (67 cu in) to the four cylinder 1.3 L (79 cu in) and 1.5 L (92 cu in) engines with power up to 80 kW (109 PS; 107 hp). The 1.5 L (92 cu in) common direct injection (cdi) diesel engine, on the contrary, is a three cylinder Mercedes-Benz engine derived from the four cylinder used in the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, and is available with either 68 PS (50 kW; 67 hp) or 95 PS (70 kW; 94 hp).

A Brabus prepared sports version has been available since 2005. It is powered by a turbocharged Mitsubishi 4G15 engine, developing 130 kW (177 PS; 174 hp), 27 PS (20 kW; 27 hp) more than the Mitsubishi Colt CZT. It can reach a maximum speed of 221 km/h (137 mph) and accelerate from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.9 seconds. The Forfour was to be sold in the United States along with the revived Smart Formore vehicle. However, due to slow sales, the Forfour has been phased out from production.

The sales brochures state that the interior "is designed around the concept of a lounge"; to test this, Top Gear presenters spent 24 hours inside the Forfour. They said it was a nice place to be in but they would not buy the car due to its high price compared to its rivals.

Following Smart's initial success for the fortwo in the US, and due to a surprise increase in popularity in the forfour, Mercedes Benz exec Rainer Schmückle recently revealed that officials were considering relaunching the car. This has also to be seen in the light of the mutual stock exchange between the maker of small cars Renault and Mercedes. Penske Automotive Group Inc., distributor of Smart in the US, has signed a deal for Nissan to build a new four-door version of its Smart line of small cars, as it aims to boost sales of the suffering brand, set to go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2011, and would expand Smart's lineup to include a larger five-seat passenger car. Smart currently sells a two-passenger minicar, the fortwo, sales of which are down 62 percent this year.

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