However, the manufacturer will often provide a single model that is the tiniest it has ever produced. So let's examine them now. The smallest cars ever made from 30 different companies that had the smallest gap between their front and back ends are listed here in declining order of length, or ascending order of shortness, if you like. Only passenger cars from currently operating brands are included, however the first example features a nameplate that is now a GMC sub-brand.
Hummer H3
Although Hummer is known for building incredibly enormous smallest cars ever made, one of its models must logically be shorter than the others given that the company produces multiple models. Based on a basis akin to that of the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado pickup trucks, that vehicle is called the H3. It measured 188.3 inches (4782 mm) in SUV form rather than pickup form. You won't see numbers like that in this piece again.
DS 3
2010 saw the release of the DS 3, a high-end version of the Citroen C3. After six years, DS Automobiles was founded as a distinct brand, and the Citroen logo was removed. Since then, a number of other DS models—including a second-generation 3—have been released, but the original, at 155.4 inches (3948mm), is still the shortest.
Volvo 66
Volvo's first vehicle, the 1927 ÖV4, was 163.4 inches (4150mm) long. It wasn't until almost fifty years later that a shorter Volvo was manufactured. The latter car was a somewhat modified DAF 66, created and produced by the Dutch Daf firm, which Volvo acquired in the middle of the 1970s. Volvo kept the tiny Renault engine and the then very rare continuously variable transmission, making very few other alterations. However, it installed larger front and rear bumpers and somewhat lengthened the car in order to increase safety. In spite of this, at 153.5 inches (3900mm), it became and remains smallest car ever made.
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider
A small number of Alfa Romeos that are shorter than four meters have been produced, despite their rarity. These consist of the much more modern 4C, the Alfasud, and a licensed-built Renault Dauphine variant. The Spider version of the 1950s Giulietta, however, is shorter than any of these. One is owned by the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo in Arese, and its measurements are 152.0 in (3860 mm).
Chrysler Sunbeam
A UK model manufactured by Chrysler Europe at the Linwood plant in Scotland between 1977 and 1981 was the smallest vehicle to bear the Chrysler name. Previously branded as a Talbot, its length from bumper to bumper measured 150.8 inches (3830mm), an absurd length for any Chrysler produced in the United States. Although it doesn't seem to have been sold under that name, a further smaller Linwood-built vehicle known variously as the Hillman Imp, Singer Chamois, and Sunbeam Stiletto was occasionally referred to as the Chrysler Imp, even on the covers of workshop manuals.
Alpine A106
Renault 4CV parts were used to build Jean Rédélé's (1922–2007) first sports car. Dieppe was home to the Renault dealer. Something with a 750cc engine can only go so big, and the A106 was noticeably little at 145.7 inches (3700mm). Despite being small by today's standards, Alpine's single model, the A110, eclipses the much older A106 at about 165 inches.
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Mercedes A-Class
The A-Class of today is essentially unrecognizable from the 1997 debut model. This strange contraption was quite tiny for a Mercedes-badged car, with an abundance of internal room owing to its height rather than its length. After a 2001 redesign, it grew to 142.0 in (3606mm) from its original 140.7 in (3575mm). At 148.7 inches (3776mm), the long-wheelbase variant was also well under four meters.
Skoda Citigo
The 139.4-inch (3540mm) Citigo was Skoda's only city car up to that point. It was nearly identical to two other compact VW Group models, the Volkswagen up! and the Seat Mii. But out of the three, it was the only one that could be regarded as the shortest in the brand's history.
Volkswagen Polo
At about 137.8 inches (3500mm), the Polo/50 is the shortest vehicle that Audi and Volkswagen have ever created. The Grand California 680, VW's largest model, would only be somewhat longer if two of them were parked front to back. The first-generation Polo was closely matched by the GTI version of the Lupo city car, which was very slightly shorter than the less powerful versions. However, at 138.7in/3524mm, it was longer than the previous model by about an inch.
Kia Pride
Produced in South Korea from 1987 until 2000, the first of three Kia Pride models was a clone of the Ford Festiva (also known as the Mazda 121). It was the smallest cars ever made marketed with a Kia logo, measuring 136.8 inches (3475mm). At 139.2in (3535mm), the first-generation Picanto was even longer than the original Pride, having been introduced three years after the latter was withdrawn.
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