We report on multiwavelength observations of nova SMCN 2016-10a .
The present observational set is one of the most comprehensive for any nova in the Small Magellanic Cloud , including : low , medium , and high resolution optical spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry from SALT , FLOYDS , and SOAR ; long-term OGLE V - and I - bands photometry dating back to six years before eruption ; SMARTS optical and near-IR photometry from \sim 11 days until over 280 days post-eruption ; Swift satellite X-ray and ultraviolet observations from \sim 6 days until 319 days post-eruption .
The progenitor system contains a bright disk and a main sequence or a sub-giant secondary .
The nova is very fast with t _ { 2 } \simeq 4.0 \pm 1.0 d and t _ { 3 } \simeq 7.8 \pm 2.0 d in the V -band .
If the nova is in the SMC , at a distance of \sim 61 \pm 10 kpc , we derive M _ { V, \mathrm { max } } \simeq - 10.5 \pm 0.5 , making it the brightest nova ever discovered in the SMC and one of the brightest on record .
At day 5 post-eruption the spectral lines show a He/N spectroscopic class and a FWHM of \sim 3500 km s ^ { -1 } indicating moderately high ejection velocities .
The nova entered the nebular phase \sim 20 days post-eruption , predicting the imminent super-soft source turn-on in the X-rays , which started \sim 28 days post-eruption .
The super-soft source properties indicate a white dwarf mass between 1.2 M _ { \odot } and 1.3 M _ { \odot } in good agreement with the optical conclusions .