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UGLY "SMART" CAR WILL TRY WORLD CUP RALLY
LONDON – Some unlikely-looking vehicles have lined up for the annual World Cup rally the covers a circuitous route from London to Athens but the one prepared in desert khaki by Emma Saxby and Miles Moorhouse for tomorrow's (October 5) start is something completely different… The features of Daimler-Chrysler's Smart, dammit, are trumpeted as great for the city, for shopping, for posing at the mall and – at a stretch – taking a very close friend for a not-too-far-away weekend in the country. Yet here are Emma and Miles cosying down for 6400km of rough riding through 12 countries in 12 days on first smooth tar but later rugged country tracks – the latter frequently populated by stray livestock and handily torn up by tank tracks during the Bosnian conflict. The Smart Pulse and its 600cc, turbocharged, 45kW, three-cylinder engine will cruise, thump and jolt through, for instance, Croatia, Bosnia and Albania. The two intrepid crew just happen to work for the Smart organisation. The intrepid crew – who just happen to work for the Smart organisation – will join 69 other crews at Blenheim Palace in England tomorrow morning with maps that also cover France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Montenegro and Albania. All 70 will be looking forward to their arrival in Athens on October 15 – but many just won't make it. The teams will have to rely on their own navigation and mechanical skills as well as competing on timed trials and hill climbs. Emma says she wanted the extra challenge of an unconventional car: "You usually expect to see Smart cars driving along city streets so I thought it would be a great opportunity to put one through its paces on some of the worst roads in Europe. "I'm confident that, despite its small size, the Smart will easily cope with the long trip and poor roads. We are up against larger and more powerful cars but the Smart is fast, agile and safe so it was logical to choose the coupe." The rally car is a right-hand drive smart City-Coupe Pulse straight out of the showroom but, for safety's sake, equipped with rollover protection cages and safety harnesses. Emma and Miles prepared the car in their spare time at a Smart service centre. 
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