Secma F16 news - Little respect? - 2008

'Take a look at this two-seater, rear-engined roadster with a sub-six second 0-60mph time and a €17,000 price tag,' someone shouted across the office.

Well, they didn’t say that exactly, because no one speaks like that outside of daytime soap operas. But that was the gist. We were interested. We like numbers like that.

Here's the Secma F16, unveiled at the Paris show last week. Yes, it’s named after an American fighter jet, which is apt, as it bears absolutely no resemblance to an American fighter jet.

It's not even American, it's French.

The Secma is a lightweight roadster of Smart ForTwo proportions with, we fear, even less track-day credibility.

It’s just 275cm long, 560kg in weight and fairly basic. Very basic, in fact – you don’t even get adjustable seats or a glove compartment.

You do, however, get a 105bhp 1.6-litre Renault engine driving the rear wheels, good for a 0-60mph of 5.9 seconds, which should be plenty quick enough in something of that size.

We’d imagine that, once you get behind the wheel, it’s a massive laugh. Whether for you or unwary bystanders, we couldn’t say.