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Huh? Smart ForTwo Wins Cannonball Run?

August 8, 2008 12:00 PM by Brian Potter
Filed Under: Movies Smart

With only an ECU and suspension upgrade, the five-year-old, second-hand smart fortwo BRABUS of David Ward and Adrian Hull took victory in the Cannonball Run – a 3,000 mile dash across Europe inspired by the famous 80s film starring Burt Reynolds and Jackie Chan.

Contrary to popular belief, this Cannonball Run is not an illegal race which spans thousands of miles across numerous state and/or country borders. Instead it is a road rally where an average speed, in this case 61mph, is the target over a predetermined route. Despite the participation of numerous pavement scorching six-figure supercars, who gets there first is not the objective.

“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, who runs an estate agency in South Woodford. “We kept at a decent speed and still averaged around 35 miles per gallon.”

As first time participants, the run started in Sandown Park into France, Portugal and Spain with a finish in Brighton. Making David and Adrian’s victory even more miraculous was the fact that they were the only entrants without an in-car satellite navigation system, preferring a traditional European road map instead.
Source: Smart

http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080808.004/huh-smart-fortwo-wins-cannonball-run


I felt this was relevant :)

Not bad for a 3 cyl. diesel engine. I would have expected better FE? H:o

Bring back the days of the fun little hot hatch whips! No more of this 3000 lb pig GTi hogwash!

61mph average would kill the mileage. Counting stops, you'd have to be running 70+ mph.

Not bad for a 3 cyl. diesel engine. I would have expected better FE? H:o

Not a diesel.

It's a BRABUS, which has a 74 HP gasoline engine in this older body style. A diesel would have been over 50 US MPG easily, driven balls out.

Thanks Mike T. I figured it should get better FE with a diesel. I did not relize they made a gas engine for the Smart before this year? H:confused:

Wow, that's really incredible. A real Tortuse adn Hare story.

Wow, that's really incredible. A real Tortuse and Hare story.
For sure! If only more people would notice that.

ollie

Hold on there, Cowboy(s), that ain't the Cannonball Run, it's a road rally.

The Cannonball Run (actually, the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash) was a cross country race created by Car and Driver magazine staffers Brock Yates and Steve Smith. It "officially" ran four times, but went underground after a lawsuit in 1980 named C&D magazine, Yates and Smith as liable for illegal actions by participants. The race is still being run today, but it's kept very quiet.

My point is, the Cannonball run is a pedal-to-the-metal race. I have nothing against road rallies, I used to run them myself (before GPS took most of the fun out of it). The fact is, it's not a bit out of the ordinary for a small, fuel-efficient car to win a rally. The target times in road rallies are based upon perfect navigation at the posted speed limit, and include time for gas stops. As long as a car is capable of running the posted speed limit and it remains on course, it's a contender. Remember, in a road rally, you drop as many points for going too fast as you do for going too slow.

I'm glad someone is out having fun with their Smart Car, but there is absolutely nothing exciting or impressive about a Smart Car winning a road rally.