Mercedes Benz

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart, Germany, Feb 25, 2009

A special edition of the smart fortwo will be celebrating its world premiere at the 79th Geneva Motor Show. The "edition limited three" boasts exclusive, elegant paintwork and a spring-like fresh interior design concept. Thanks to mhd technology as standard, the cult two-seater car combines a chic appearance with outstanding environmental friendliness. The smart fortwo "edition limited three" will be produced as a limited series.


smart is welcoming the spring with a special series featuring melon green metallic paintwork and extensive equipment, thus continuing the tradition of smart special models. The new special finish of the spring model injects a fresh shot of colour for the new season and harmonises with the tridion safety cell. The 15 inch alloy wheels in a sporty six-spoke design fitted with tyres measuring 175/55 R15 at the front and 195/50 R15 at the rear are a further eye-catching feature. The exterior look is rounded off by aluminium-effect "limited three" logos in the mirror triangle.

The interior boasts an unusual, fresh design concept in terms of colours and materials. Here, the melon green metallic colour scheme is continued in an exclusive fabric design with shades of brown creating a stylish contrast, for example on the seats and in the door trim. The instrument panel featuring dark brown leather-effect details also continues the fresh play of colours that contrast with the green fabric. The 3-spoke sports steering wheel with steering wheel gearshift is covered with dark brown leather, as is the gear knob. Shimmering matt silver trim parts round off the harmonious impression of the interior.

The new edition, which is available as a coupé and a cabriolet, is based on the "passion" equipment variant. Among other features it comes with softouch automatic gear programme, electric windows, air conditioning with automatic temperature control, and for the coupé a panoramic roof with sunblind. The standard equipment of the "edition limited three" also includes dashboard instruments and the radio 9. Power steering, heated seats, a lockable glove compartment and the smart sound system with five high quality loud speakers and a smart MP3 interface are optionally available.

The special series of the new smart fortwo also places a focus on "green" when it comes to the environment thanks to micro hybrid drive (mhd) technology as standard with an intelligent and user-friendly automatic start/stop system. The control electronics shut down the 52kW /71 hp engine as soon as the driver brakes and the vehicle's speed falls below 8 km/h - for example when approaching traffic lights.

The engine starts again in the fraction of a second when the driver releases the brake pedal. The system is perfectly tailored to the automated manual transmission of the smart fortwo and is fully automatic - the driver does not need to do any clutchwork or gear shifting. The automatic start/stop system reduces the combined fuel consumption by approximately eight percent (NEDC consumption per 100 km: coupé: 4.4 litres, cabrio: 4.5 litres). It also reduces the CO2 emissions to 104 grams per kilometre for the coupé and 106 grams per kilometre for the cabrio version. Fuel savings of up to almost 20 percent are possible in urban traffic with frequent stop-and-go situations.

The special model "edition limited three" costs €15,470 as a coupé and €18,510 as a cabrio (German list price incl. VAT).