Former grand prix star...
Former grand prix star Jos Verstappen is to return to the A1 GP series, where countries compete against each other in identical cars. The former Benetton driver is looking forward to a visit to his home track, Zandvoort in Holland, on 1 October: “I hope I can reward the enthusiasm of the crowds with good results.” Meanwhile, an A1GP car will be in action in Manchester this weekend as part of a festival organised by Sky television.
The Smart ForTwo is...
The Smart ForTwo is growing ò€“ and hereò€™s the picture to prove it! Auto Express has learned that Mercedes is planning to add a pair of rear doors and extra seats to its famous city car.
Doubling the Smartò€™s carrying capacity to four people, the new variant will give the range some added practicality, letting it compete with an upcoming raft of desirable small cars such as Audiò€™s A1 and BMWò€™s Isetta. No name has yet been give to the newcomer, but itò€™s likely to carry the ForTwo +2 tag, indicating that itò€™s very much an addition to the ForTwo line-up.
As you can see from this illustration, the new model is near identical to the two-seater, apart from a pair of neatly integrated small rear doors. These reverse-hinged units give access to two individual chairs in the back. Underneath the skin, the car features the same rear-wheel-drive layout as the regular ForTwo with the engine under the boot floor, but with a stretched wheelbase giving extra legroom.
Itò€™s hoped that the new model will be much more of a success than Smartò€™s last four-seater, the ForFour. A joint venture with Mitsubishi, which also produced the Colt, the ForFour was not popular and canned after only two years.
The ForTwo+2 is still some way off from reaching showrooms, though. Itò€™s not likely to go on sale until 2012 at the earliest ò€“ although when it does arrive, there will be a wide range of engines, all featuring start-stop, plus a fully electric model.