Friday 8th March 2024

Bonkers Smart Fortwo 'Jeepster' for sale

'You do have to be careful around bends', says the ad. Wonder why...

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If there was ever a car trend tailor-made for us, it’s the Dakar, Bahar and everything in-between-spec sports car. The Porsche and Lamborghini arguably kicked the whole thing off with the 911 Dakar and Huracan Sterrato respectively, both of which arrived within seconds of each other. But the restomod scene already had both of them beat, especially on the 911 front, with the Singer and Tuthill’s outrageous SC/RS, not to mention the countless number of home-brewed Safari specials that crop up on YouTube. It begs the question, what else could be improved with a set of bolt-on arches and off-road springs?

An off-road specialist in Hertfordshire has asked the very same question. Its stock list reveals a selection of Jeep Wranglers that have been fitted with sports exhausts and spruced up with quilted leather interiors, plus there are a pair of Toyota FJ Cruisers: the American-only 4x4 based on the Land Cruiser. And while the Tonka Toy-like FJ would comfortably be the quirkiest car on any dealer’s forecourt, it has nothing on the car we have here. Behold, everyone, the Smart Fortwo ‘Jeepster Special Edition’.

Now, there are plenty of wacky Smarts out there, such as the Crossblade and all the Brabus offerings, but this is on a whole other level of bizarre. Developed by the specialist it’s named after, the Jeepster is every bit the Dakar-spec Fortwo its three previous owners had always dreamed of. It started life as a Grandstyle Convertible, before Jeepster swapped out the original suspension for something six inches taller. Obviously this was done to improve ground clearance, but it also opened up enough room for the company to fit a set of heavy-duty Black Rhino wheels and chunky Toyo Open Country off-road tyres. That doesn’t seem to have left a huge amount of clearance between the tyre and the bolt-on wheel arches, which don’t even cover half of the tyres.

Performance, meanwhile, is mostly unchanged from the base car. Jeepster says it has fitted with a more ‘rorty’ sounding exhaust and, er, that’s about it. So that means you get 84hp from a 1.0-litre turbo three-pot which, short of the Brabus, is the most powerful motor in the range. It’ll get to 62mph in under ten seconds (okay, 9.9 to be precise), although the beefy off-road tyres and larger wheels will have done nothing to embellish that time. 

Needless to say, we haven’t a clue what it’s like to drive, so we’ll have to take the seller’s word on it. “It's not a hard cornering sports car obviously”, they say, suggesting that “you do have to [be] careful around the bends.” Given the height of the thing, that seems like reasonable advice, and it suggests any enquiry will be met with total honesty. Apparently, it gets to 60mph okay and generates passerby goodwill like nothing the vendor has ever driven. Which is nice. It currently wears some graphics to promote the firm that made it; using it in a similar vein wouldn't be such a bad idea. We're thinking outdoor specialist. Or joke shop. 

Either way, pay £14,995 and it’s all yours. You can get a Smart Fortwo Convertible for much, much less than that, while a newer, all-electric Brabus version will only cost you an extra couple of grand. None of them will be any good off-road, though, and even if this one falls at the first hurdle on a green lane trail, it ought to be amusing enough just zooming about a muddy field in a rear-engine, rear-wheel drive city car with rooster tails behind you. No, the Jeepster won’t be for everyone, or many at that (though the company says it has more in the pipeline), but who doesn't love whacky creations like this? Keep ‘em coming, Britain. 

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See the original advert here

[Motormouth88]

I think this takes the biscuit for most embarrassing car to be seen in

[xu5]

The ground clearance still looks pretty low?

ETA: not that you would want it with a higher CoG.

Edited by xu5 on Friday 8th March 10:23

[supacool1]

You'd have to be certifiable if you pay 15K for this.

[Rumblestripe]

I want to see Edd China drive that.

Does that make me a bad person?

[garypotter]

first 3 comments says it all, ridiculous car at a ridiculous price

[DaveyBoyWonder]

Similar age/mileage base car is 6 or 7 grand. Not sure why you'd pay so much more for that monstrosity. The ad says there are more in production as well - maybe they see a market for them I don't!?

[jimmytheone]

I'll go against the grain and say that looks like a right laugh / terrifying, perhaps not 15k but still...

but is it road-legal? With the tyres sticking out?

[InitialDave]

What an sbsolute embarrassment of a thing.

Just get a Panda 4x4, at least those actually have capability.

[WPA]

garypotter said:

ridiculous car at a ridiculous price

This, just awful

[Turbobanana]

Probably handles like one of these...



...assuming all the people went up on the top deck because it was a nice day.

[normalbloke]

jimmytheone said:

I'll go against the grain and say that looks like a right laugh / terrifying, perhaps not 15k but still...

but is it road-legal? With the tyres sticking out?

Only the tread blocks have to be covered. Hard to tell from those shots.

[anonymous-user]

Absolutely love this!! What a laugh

[zax]

Conversion kits are available, but I only ever found them in the US. If the kit was EU type approved and I could get it through vehicle inspection I would certainly build one for a laugh. 2nd hand Smart fortwos are dirt cheap. But this price? No way!

[TheMilkyBarKid]

I once hired a standard one of these whilst on holiday on Mykonos and I can say without hesitation it was the worst car I’d ever driven. This will be even worse.

[Bill]

biggbn said:

Absolutely love this!! What a laugh

For £2k maybe!

The new tyres are 23% bigger, so I suspect this won't even get to 60 any more.

[anonymous-user]

TheMilkyBarKid said:

I once hired a standard one of these whilst on holiday on Mykonos and I can say without hesitation it was the worst car I’d ever driven. This will be even worse.

I adored all of mine, they were the older model so possibly even 'worse' to those who don't like them. I did tens of thousands of miles across the country in four of them and loved every single mile

[BenS94]

If Marc Bolan was still around....

[Trikster]

jimmytheone said:

I'll go against the grain and say that looks like a right laugh / terrifying, perhaps not 15k but still...

but is it road-legal? With the tyres sticking out?

Definitely this - looks hilarious and would probably be a right laugh for a short time - then thrown to the back of the, very expensive, toy shed

Could see these whizzing around some Balearic island though

[TheMilkyBarKid]

biggbn said:

TheMilkyBarKid said:

I once hired a standard one of these whilst on holiday on Mykonos and I can say without hesitation it was the worst car I’d ever driven. This will be even worse.

I adored all of mine, they were the older model so possibly even 'worse' to those who don't like them. I did tens of thousands of miles across the country in four of them and loved every single mile

Good for you George! They’re not for me but they do seem to be regarded fondly by owners, a colleague has one and absolutely adores it. The one I drove was a knackered Greek hire car so probably wasn’t the best example in fairness! I’ve always liked the SMART roadster though, I’d love a Brabus one of those.

I also remember seeing a Brabus For-two doing well over a ton on the Autobahn once on a road trip through Germany, there was just something about it that was laugh out loud funny belting along like that

[anonymous-user]

TheMilkyBarKid said:

biggbn said:

TheMilkyBarKid said:

I once hired a standard one of these whilst on holiday on Mykonos and I can say without hesitation it was the worst car I’d ever driven. This will be even worse.

I adored all of mine, they were the older model so possibly even 'worse' to those who don't like them. I did tens of thousands of miles across the country in four of them and loved every single mile

Good for you George! They’re not for me but they do seem to be regarded fondly by owners, a colleague has one and absolutely adores it. The one I drove was a knackered Greek hire car so probably wasn’t the best example in fairness! I’ve always liked the SMART roadster though, I’d love a Brabus one of those.

I also remember seeing a Brabus For-two doing well over a ton on the Autobahn once on a road trip through Germany, there was just something about it that was laugh out loud funny belting along like that

One of mine was a Brabus 450. The one thing that always jarred, literally, was the ride. Very harsh regardless of the model, but I found them incredibly practical for two and so usable. I genuinely think the original 450 is a design classic and still looks fresh today