Smart races ahead of competition
August 8, 2008 Posted by: Paul Lucas
The film it was inspired by may have been a campy, slapstick comedy but the Cannonball Run, a 3,000 mile dash across Europe, was no joke to its competitors. Nor is the run’s victor a joke - as a second-hand smart fortwo BRABUS, which was the smallest car in the 40-vehicle field, shot ahead of the competition to claim the glory.
The event began at Sandown Park and took in France, Portugal and Spain along the way. Lifelong friends David Ward and Adrian Hull from Essex were announced the winners for completing the route at the exact stipulated requirement average of 61mph.
The reason for the victory was straightforward enough - the smart’s superior fuel efficiency meant the friends rarely had to stop to fill up the car with petrol. As a result, they were able to steal a march on the competition thanks to the 53mpg performance of the smart fortwo.
“The downfall of the bigger cars was that they were forced to stop so often, so while they kept overtaking us, we eventually went past them at the next petrol station when they needed to fill up again,” said David.
“We kept at a decent speed and still averaged around 35 miles per gallon.
“I think the other drivers initially thought it was a hoax that a smart had entered but they gave us more and more credit as the week went on and, at the end, they were genuinely pleased that we won.”
He added: “While I think I’ve converted quite a few of them to the merits of smart ownership, the event has just strengthened my admiration for the car. The ride and economy are outstanding, you can park it anywhere and there is room for my golf clubs - it’s just a great little car.”
Just as significantly, the duo were the only competitors to use a traditional European road guide rather than an in-car satellite navigation system.
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Filed under: Green cars, Latest news | Tags: Cannonball Run, fuel-efficient vehicles, Green cars, smart, smart fortwo |
