auto-xr

This was taken today at the the UFO autocross in Monterey, CA.

Very cool.

00r101

I think that thing would be illegal for SCCA autocross - too tall and too narrow makes for a tippy car.

sbyrne

As a certified SSS, I don't think I would allow it for the reason stated above. The rulebook prohibits vehicles with a high center of gravity.

Slantnose!

We've had one come out before...
...wasn't really fast, but didn't look like it would tip over either.

springgeyser

The smart car driver,"I believe", had a faster time than most the drivers in the field. This is from a ~70hp car.

auto-xr

It beat a late model prelude

auto-xr

Here's a link with more pics.

http://www.steve510.com/coppermine/t...bum=146&page=2

The smart car held up pretty good.

butzip

Kind of blows that LWB issue out of the water eh? BTW - there was a Cayenne at the zone 1 last year.... on snow tires even!!

00r101

Fast does not equal safe. Just because the car did not roll (yet) and was faster than other cars is not a reason to let it run. Having had to write the incident report on a stock Ford Focus roll because of poor tire choice, worn shocks and a driver who would not give up, I would not allow a Smart to run at an event that I was SSS on.

racer

We had one at a local event as well. Far from last place overall iirc. We all like to "say" it has a high Cg, but what is it? The car is only 1700lbs.. 8ft long or so.. not sure of width/height off hand. Engine is mounted relatively low in back. The car has understeer built into it (staggered tires don't help that) plus a world of gizmos to keep it safe (think Moose test here).

sjfehr

Is that the one running at NASA last year? I saw photos, but didn't see him in person. One of the mini club guys brought a Smart to the sniper school last year and I talked to him quote a bit. (Same guy?) It wasn't terribly fast, that's for sure. It looks very top-heavy, but most of the weight of the car seemed still pretty low- there's just nothing to the body at all. With suspension mods to stop the body roll, it might not be too bad, but the stock suspension is terrible, you can get one rocking with just light pressure from one finger.

The car is so narrow, though, that it can drive a way better line through slaloms and offsets than the rest of us, which gives it a considerable advantage that offsets some of its autocross disadvantages. With standard OEM street tires, the tires lose grip before rollover, but I'd be surprised if this car wasn't banned from SCCA as a rollover risk. I wouldn't want to drive one of these on r-comps!


...of course, if it *did* roll over, you could just pick it back up and keep going, I suppose

auto-xr

Some guys were really tossing these cars around. Looks like they'd be stable and a lot of fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPQIizRp9ck

Does anyone know for sure if these are or aren't SCCA legal?

Jarez Mifkin

I sent an email to SCCA national earlier in the year to find out what class a Brabus fell in, I was told that they were not allowed because they did fall into the correct category for roll over safety according to the gov't.

Grantsfo

Honestly I think many of the older sedans that are SCCA legal that run DOT R tires are much more dangerous than that Smart car on street tires. Smart is suprizingly stable and the motor sits down real low in rear of a car just like a Porsche 911. LOL!

It was fun watching him! But I'll stick with the Boxster. It's just a little faster than the Smart car and I dont need to worry about rolling over as much.



Now here is a car that I would have questions about. Bet its legal with SCCA? UFO events are great fun!

Slantnose!

Whoa...!