[stevenvillatoro]

The new 453 weighs in at 2478 lbs. – a 20+ percent increase. I can already imagine the squawks that will follow. Besides the obvious downside, there will be a positive side to the weight gain also.

Info buried here;

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1093393_smart-fortwo-vs-mercedes-benz-s-class-crash-test-video

"At 5,088 pounds, the S-Class has 2.1 times the mass of the 2,478 lb Smart. For the record, the new Smart is a good 400-500 lbs heavier than its predecessor."

 

[Huronlad]

671 extra pounds. I find a 37% increase in mass very hard to believe. Might be the weight of the forfour.

 

[OliverB]

Can't be correct for an empty 2 dr 453!

 

[smark]

Every small car on the market gotten bigger over the years. The Mini's are the same length, as a Honda Fit. The Civic's are as big as the 3 generation Accord, if not larger. I remember how small the first Corolla's were. The Civic's were dinky.

 

[09451]

I was just gonna post that. I can't see you link but I'm guessing it's the autoblog story with crash test.
I'm thinking that's a loaded weight. I checked the Benz USA site and they have a 550s listed at 4700lbs and the article said 5000lbs. That would make sense as it's a crash test. So it's probably more like 2200lbs for the smart.

 

[akcapsmart]

I remember back when AMC introduced the Pacer, which was noted for it's increased WIDTH, there was a lot of discussion about the decidedly porky curb weight.

WIDTH can have profound affect on WEIGHT.

That said, I'm guessing the C453 (Fortwo) Build Series can still be sub 2000 lbs.

 

[WhiteNBlack08]

I've got to believe there is a typo somewhere... I don't know how they could stuff 600 more pounds into this car. Shoot, if this is true, the smart now weighs more than my 1983 Scamp pickup!!! It's curb weight is only 2300#. And, it's going to need a bigger boost in hp to make up for it. If they think the current smart is a dog, wait until they test the new one toting 600 more pounds around with no more hp.

 

[jwight]

Yep, something isn't adding up. The 453 is wider but smart has already said they saved weight by using lighter high strength materials in the new fortwo. Color me confused.

 

[GoFaster]

I suspect it's the GVWR (loaded capacity) rating, not the actual weight.

 

[stevenvillatoro]

See edited link now in original post.

 

[GoFaster]

There is no way that's right. Just because the article said so twice, could just mean they misinterpreted GVWR with curb weight twice.

Same power with that much weight will make it an absolute dog. It will kill the fuel consumption, too.

 

[levindb]

I believe the GVWR of the 451 is 2315...which would suggest an increase of 163 lbs...and that seems reasonable....just 7% more.

 

[GoFaster]

I believe the GVWR of the 451 is 2315...which would suggest an increase of 163 lbs...and that seems reasonable....just 7% more.

... and that's assuming they left the load capacity (passengers + cargo) the same, which isn't necessarily true.

 

[stevenvillatoro]

Here's a positive clue: The new 4-door Twingo weighs 2,090 pounds.

 

[jwight]

There you go. Betting the new fortwo will still be under 1,900 lbs curb weight.