[translated from PS AUTOMOBIL REPORT, June 28, 2004]

We talked to Dr. Helmut Wawra, Vice President for Development & Design at smart GmbH, about the safety technology that comes as standard in the smart, and about what may still be possible.

Dr. Wawra, you issued invitations to a smart Safety Workshop in Stuttgart. What was striking about it were the numerous representatives of the American and Canadian media. Why were they invited?

Dr. Wawra: As we all know, the Americans have a very strong need for safety. The first legal regulations on passive safety were developed in the USA, where the legislative standards remain the most stringent to this day. Our main objective was to show the Americans who come from a market where large cars are the norm that a small car, too, can offer a high degree of safety. That was one of our objectives.

But primarily from the standpoint that you will be represented in America and Canada in future -- including with the fortwo?

Dr. Wawra: Essentially, that's right. In 2006, we will mark our market entry to the USA with the new smart formore. By American standards, the formore, as a "smart utility vehicle" (SUV), is a "normal-sized" car. And of course after this, any cars we produce in future will be developed with suitability for the US market in mind. With our small fortwo with a cdi engine, we will be making our debut on the Canadian market before year's end. However we have no plans at present to introduce the current smart models on the US market.

The smart has grown up. What major changes have been made to the vehicle in the last few years?

Dr. Wawra: Taking the entire car into consideration, over the five years we've been producing it, we see that today the car only has some 30 percent of the parts it contained when production started. For a variety of reasons, 70 percent of the parts have been changed. There were cost considerations involved, for instance, when we undertook to re-engineer the car to offer the same functions with more economical solutions. Safety and functional aspects were also involved, as well as weight-reduction issues. We've re-engineered the engines, given them more power, developed special features such as ESP, which is now standard, and so forth.

Today you described the smart as the world champion in braking. On what do you base your claim?

Dr. Wawra: The simple fact that we have ABS in all of our vehicles gives us optimum control of the brake-force distribution. The smart roadster is particularly high-performing in this respect. Its extremely low centre of gravity helps keep the unweighting of the rear axle during braking to a minimum. Especially with the Brabus brake design, and in combination with the corresponding wide Brabus tires, this vehicle is a world champion in braking.

The vehicle comes equipped with ABS, but with your vehicles, ABS is incorporated as part of ESP...

Dr. Wawra: That's correct, ABS is a basic function of ESP. But the simple fact that I can fall back on the ABS function in critical situations enables us to optimise the braking distance with respect to a vehicle's static brake-force control.

Now the new forfour also needed new standards as regards safety technology...

Dr. Wawra: That's right. If we look at the forfour alongside its competitors within the same class, then we're dealing with safety standards that are very respectable indeed -- along with ESP, which we've already mentioned, there are also disc brakes on all four wheels, for instance.

What developments can we expect to see in future in terms of active safety?

Dr. Wawra: Where active safety is concerned, the smart is certainly top of the line. I believe there isn't a single other make of automobile that offers an ESP system on 100 percent of its vehicles. We're surely the only ones to do that, and I think that's why we're leaders in the field of active safety.

So that exhausts the topic of active and passive safety and there will be no more quantum leaps?

Dr. Wawra: I don't think there will be any more quantum leaps. Of course in the field of passive safety, one could imagine adding a few more airbags, for example window bags as in the forfour. Theoretically, I could imagine a knee bag as well, to improve the safety measures for forward displacement of the passengers. But as far as active safety is concerned, I don't see any major opportunities for us to make changes at this time. At the moment, we've completely uncoupled the accelerator pedal from the driver, added electronics, and in principle the brake pedal could also be operated entirely independently of the driver's foot during active braking intervention. The only thing left now is the steering. And in that regard, some automobile manufacturers already offer a variable ratio. In my opinion, though, that would change the vehicle's character too much while at the same time expecting a lot of the driver if we were to change the steering ratio during normal driving. However in future I could imagine achieving ESP functionality via the steering rather than the brakes.