Coys Auction - Techno Classica Essen
Essen
Germany
Saturday 10 April 2010
Admission by catalogue only - admits two.
Registration Number: EU Registered Chassis Number: WME01MC012H082530
The Smart project was born out of frustration with the increasingly hostile environment in Europe towards motorists; as free parking spots are hard to find in many European cities, official parking is expensive, and illegally parked cars are fined, immobilized or towed, the original idea behind the very short "smart car" is that the vehicle may be parked back-in in parallel parking zones. Its length of 250cm (98.4 in) equals the width of a truck or a regular parking slot, allowing two or three Smarts to park in the same space as one normal car if parked side-on to the usual parking direction.
The project idea was originally supported by Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch, and was nicknamed the "Swatchmobile". The name SMART stands for Swatch Mercedes ART . The car was supposed to use innovative