He is 40 years old, with sparkling blue eyes and a few red highlights in his short, greying hair. But the thing that caught my attention was the passion in his words. Indeed, Hartmut Sinkwitz, Chief designer of the second-generation smart, proudly gives numerous details about his baby.
"The smart is a car that stirs emotions. People have identified themselves with it, building its icon status in all the markets we sell it in. The character and the integrity of the car absolutely had to be preserved despite the new production restraints," explains the loquacious designer interviewed by Auto123.
One challenge, many obstacles
The smart is the only moving vehicle that remains at the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. DaimlerChrysler, which owns the smart brand, is obviously very proud of this distinction. But the team in charge of revisiting the car had to deal with a particular restraint. "Smart is not a storied brand with a lot of experience to evolve its models. We have a short history, but a reputation that goes beyond that history," he says.
So, for the design of the new generation, the company had to preserve what made the original car an integral part of the contemporary design universe, while keeping in mind the new standards required by the auto industry. Let's not forget: the smart version 2.0 will make its big American debut in a few months and the United Stated have a set of requirements that are less compatible with the previous reality of the smart.
"We had to make compromises for the interior layout, for instance. The dashboard can no longer match the rounded shapes of the old model because of safety rules. Just the same, we were forced to heighten the center console in order to prevent occupants from colliding their knees."
Other necessary modifications: the roof had to be raised and the windshield stretched upward to meet American crash regulations. "We made sure that a passenger's head could not hit the crossbar during a collision. As a result, the size but also the angle of the windshield were altered," adds Mr. Sinkwitz.
 |
| Hartmut Sinkwitz, Chief designer of the second-generation smart. |
"The smart is a car that stirs emotions. People have identified themselves with it, building its icon status in all the markets we sell it in. The character and the integrity of the car absolutely had to be preserved despite the new production restraints," explains the loquacious designer interviewed by Auto123.
One challenge, many obstacles
The smart is the only moving vehicle that remains at the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. DaimlerChrysler, which owns the smart brand, is obviously very proud of this distinction. But the team in charge of revisiting the car had to deal with a particular restraint. "Smart is not a storied brand with a lot of experience to evolve its models. We have a short history, but a reputation that goes beyond that history," he says.
So, for the design of the new generation, the company had to preserve what made the original car an integral part of the contemporary design universe, while keeping in mind the new standards required by the auto industry. Let's not forget: the smart version 2.0 will make its big American debut in a few months and the United Stated have a set of requirements that are less compatible with the previous reality of the smart.
 |
"We had to make compromises for the interior layout, for instance. The dashboard can no longer match the rounded shapes of the old model because of safety rules. Just the same, we were forced to heighten the center console in order to prevent occupants from colliding their knees."
Other necessary modifications: the roof had to be raised and the windshield stretched upward to meet American crash regulations. "We made sure that a passenger's head could not hit the crossbar during a collision. As a result, the size but also the angle of the windshield were altered," adds Mr. Sinkwitz.
