The Mercedes-Benz Nafa was a concept car from 1982. The vehicle had four-wheel steering, automatic transmission, and air conditioning, all part of the package.
An automotive study with front-wheel drive and two seats packaged together ideas for an innovative city car with Mercedes-Benz flair, which the manufacturer also intended to offer in an extended three or four-seater version.
The study did not make it to the factory production line because it simply could not match up to the car maker’s strict safety criteria, which place occupant protection at the top of the list of priorities. To overcome this hurdle, ingenious new ideas were needed, which only materialized many years later in the sandwich concept in the A-Class and the passenger safety cell in the smart.
On the plus side, however, the NAFA’s short dimensions endowed it with supreme maneuverability in even the tightest spaces, and parking would never be a problem again either. Slots of around just four meters in length were quite sufficient for its miniature proportions, with the four-wheel steering meaning that it could be guided into spaces forwards too. The NAFA boasted an array of further features which made it perfectly compatible with the demands of city driving: a low waistline, high seating position, and expansive windows affording an optimum all-round view.
Source: Mercedes-Benz Nafa | Classic Cars Wiki | Fandom. https://classiccars.fandom.com/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_Nafa
Images: DaimlerChrysler
