A Smart minicar has given its high-powered opposition plenty of "fuel for thought" by winning the 2008 Cannonball Run - a 4800km fun run though Europe inspired by the famous 1980's film starring Burt Reynolds.
David Ward and Adrian Hull from England beat a long list of six-figure supercars in their five-year-old, second-hand Smart ForTwo Brabus - the smallest car in the 40-vehicle field.
The run started in England, went through France, Portugal and Spain and ended in Brighton in southern England. The Smart team won by completing the route at an average of 100km/h - the stipulated requirement.
What gave them the edge was the Smart's low fuel consumption. The Brabus has a 55kW version of the original 700cc, three-cylinder, turbocharged Smart engine and averaged 8.1 litres/100km.
Ward said: "The bigger cars kept overtaking us but had to stop more often so we passed them when they needed to fill up again!"
Ward and Hull's Smart was standard apart from a engine remapping kit and upgraded suspension. This was their first entry in such an event and the only one to use a traditional European road guide instead of satnav.
"We entered for fun and to raise money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children," Ward said. "We were surprised to win and I suppose there is a 'David and Goliath' element in it."
"The other drivers thought our entry was a hoax but gave us more credit as the week went on and were genuinely pleased when we won."
Ward and Hull now have free entry in the 2009 European Cannonball Run and are planning more Smart adventures - including the 2009 Gumball Rally from Los Angeles to Miami.