by Mike Tippett

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Introduction

There have been two horsepower wars in the history of the automobile: the first began in the late 1950s in the USA - ending in 1970 with the introduction of stricter emission controls; and the second began sometime very late in the “me” decade, thanks mainly to electronic engine management systems, and it continues at a fever pitch today - especially in North America!

Everyone here seems to be in a rush, and even lowly and poorly named “mini” vans like the Toyota Sienna can crack off 0-100 km/h times of 8.5 seconds, which was firmly in high end sports car territory not even thirty years ago. Today, cars that can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in ten seconds are considered “slow” by car magazines.

Vans are often the fastest-driven vehicles on many roads these days, the fast ones usually being driven by frenzied people with cell phones jammed in their ears, 30 km/h or more over the speed limit. What a statement about modern lifestyles….

Into this hectic rat race, which I hope has reached its zenith by now, the smart fortwo cdi was introduced to Canada in the fall of 2004.

The smart fortwo cdi is the definitive losing car in the horsepower war; it has a mere 40.2 net horsepower to the credit of its 799 cc, but a more impressive 100 Nm (74 lbs-ft) of torque on tap at low rpm. The official acceleration times are considered to be glacial by motoring magazines: 0-100 km/h takes about 20 seconds. That 3 seconds of this is due to the automated clutch actuation doesn’t really matter to the stopwatch. 45 years ago, that would have made the fortwo cdi the fastest sub-800 cc car in existence, about as fast as the rare Renault Dauphine Gordini 1093, with its 49 DIN horses, and 46 more cubic centimetres to play with!

With the advent of the peak oil debate in mainstream collective consciousness, it is clear to most people that the highway to hell is paved with excessive horsepower and waste, and yet the rat race continues more or less unchallenged. (more…)