1981 Mercedes NAFA Concept, A 2-seater With Two Sliding Doors That Inspired A-Class, Smart fortwo

Mercedes introduced NAFA Concept in 1981, a compact 2-seater with a length of 2.50m and a height and width of 1.50m.

Congested streets and parking space led to the creation of the NAFA, which translated to “short-distance vehicle”.

It had two sliding doors, allowing easy entry and exit, and a four-wheel steering that allows it to be parked into tight spaces.

NAFA never made it into production, but its insights entered into the design of the Mercedes A-Class and Smart fortwo.

Congested streets and parking spaces inspired German automaker Mercedes-Benz to create and introduce a concept car called “Nahverkehrsfahrzeug” (NAFA for short), which translated to “short-distance vehicle,” in 1981.

The compact two-seater, with an overall length of 2.50 metres and an overall height and width of 1.50 metres, contradicted everything Mercedes-Benz was known to stand for to date.

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NAFA had two sliding doors that opened forwards, allowing convenient entry and exit, and a four-wheel steering that allows the car to be parked forwards into tight spaces.

Though, NAFA never made it into production, but the insights the research car furnished entered entered into the design of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class subcompact car and in the Smart fortwo, introduced in 1997 as the Smart city Coupé.

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