Smart unveils new electric city car model

The return of the two-seat runabout is drawing closer, with smart revealing the #2 in murals across major global cities, ahead of its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show on October 12.

This comes after the successor to the seminal fortwo was previewed by the Concept #2 in Beijing in April.

Design and Features

The production model loses the show car’s more fanciful design touches, such as the massive wheels, white tyres, “pluses” in the head- and taillights, leather door pulls and polished gold accents.

Still, the basic styling has carried over very nicely, retaining the teardrop-shaped lamps, big grille and the baseball cap-like “floating roof”.

While the interior hasn’t been shown yet, smart has confirmed that the #2 will feature an S-shaped dashboard akin to the original fortwo, plus a “bench seat” that incorporates covered storage and the window controls in the centre.

Specifications and Performance

The company has also revealed initial specifications – the #2 will be built on a bespoke scalable Electric Compact Architecture (ECA) and feature a redeveloped tridion cell for improved crash safety.

Under the floor lies a 35.7 kWh battery that is targeted to achieve a WLTP-rated range of around 300 km.

Smart claims the #2 can be DC fast charged from 10 to 80% in under 20 minutes, and it also touts a turning circle of just 6.95 metres curb to curb for the 2,792 mm long vehicle.

The Paris Motor Show will be the first chance for the public to see the #2 up close.

They are represented in Malaysia by Proton subsidiary Pro-Net, so this car could be an alternative to the five-door Proton eMas 5 in that market.

The smart #2 is set to make its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show on October 12, and it will be interesting to see how it is received by the public and the automotive press.

It will be available for viewing at the show.