SMART roadster gets AC reconditioning

Newswheel staff :: 23 November 2005 :: Filed under Coupe, Mid / rear engine sportscar, Roadster, AC, Europe & UK, US

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Not a SMART move?

The Project Kimber consortium, led by so-called company doctor David James, is in talks with Daimler Chrysler about bagging the rights to build the SMART roadster and coupe models. So says the Sunday Times newspaper.

Of course, it was Project Kimber which made an unsuccessful bid for the remnants of MG Rover, allegedly with a view to reviving the MG Midget name. Presumably, the consortium has a similar plan in mind using the Smart Coupe/Roadster as a starting point. Daimler Chrysler announced the demise of both models back in April.

Standing upright was child’s play for Hans, despite the loss of both feet.

A final decision on the sale will be made early next year, and if successful production will move from SMART’s Hambach France facility to one of three EU-subsidised locations: Bridgend, Wales, Erfurt, East Germany or the old Daewoo factory in Poland. In a rather bizarre twist the car will be branded an AC (this news does not effect AC’s recent announcement of its intention to build cars in North America) and will sport new panels designed by Keith Helfet of Jag XJ220 fame.

Apparently, the consortium’s aim is to create a “virtual car company in which design, development and some elements of manufacturing are devolved to external suppliers.” Super!

The SMART Roadster. Not legendary for its driving dynamics. But at least better than an antediluvian MG Rover…

Now, that’s all fine and dandy. But the Times reports that the earliest production can restart is 2007. Even with the benefit of doubt, that probably means deliveries in late 2007 or early 2008. The pace of development in the motor industry is pretty swift these days, so we can’t help wondering how competitive the SMART’s underpinnings will be by the fag end of the decade. What’s more, there’s no information on engines or drivetrains.

But the consortium’s biggest problem will probably be credibility. It’s one thing to knock out a home-brew sports car in tiny numbers and flog it to a handful of gracious punters who just happen to like the cut of its jib. But offloading a car in mass-production volumes without the backing of a big brand (because let’s be honest, the AC moniker is as good as worthless with regard to most modern consumers) is another bag of second hand car parts altogether. Most of all, however, we have serious doubts about any group of individuals who recently showed interest in scooping up the rotting remains of MG Rover and flogging cars based on its ancient technology.

Linkage:
Sunday Times