2015 Smart Fortwo, Forfour Concepts to Bow at Frankfurt Motor Show
Once the buzz of the auto industry, the Smart car is now as stale as the week old donuts the finance team left uneaten in the boardroom.
Long overdue, Smart will look to revive its sales next year with two all-new models, which will be previewed at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
The first will be a concept for the volume Fortwo model, while the second will be a four-seater hatchback appropriately named the Forfour. Both will share the same basic structure and use a new direct-injection 900cc 3-cylinder engine co-developed with Renault with maximum output set at around 105 hp for turbocharged versions.
A six-speed manual is planned, though unlikely for North America. Instead, US Smarts will make use of a new 7-speed dual-clutch automatic which replaces the much-criticized single-clutch version in the current car.
An electric powertrain will also be offered.
According to a new report the ForFour will be roughly three-feet longer than the current Smart fortwo, showing just how flexible the newly developed structure is. The style is expected to be inspired heavily by the Forstars concept (side), with rumors indicating another model (a crossover) based even more closely off the Forstars concept could follow.
[Source: Autocar]
Discuss this story at SmartcarofAmerica.com
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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if smart is stale like week old donuts, explain why they are still selling 33 times as many fortwo's as iQ's in some places? In a real world; that maybe possibly, you know, might be considered kinda sorta SIGNIFICANT for a boutique car with very very few dealerships and zero advertising compared to Toyota's mammoth global dealer network and Mega Millions on advertisers. **There's a ginormous gaping hole in rear engined 4-seater offerings between the 911 and Evora on top, and the golf cart on the bottom. Nobody else smart enough to see it?
Manual gearbox?! On a city car, why?! I love the fortwo, having owned both a first-generation and second generation car (and still have an aging second-generation). For me one of the best features is the automated manual box. If you know how to drive the car properly, it's no headache at all and no slower than a standard manual gear change but without the hassle (and pain) of a clutch peddle. Mercedes will be mad not to offer an automated manual as a no cost (or at least small cost) option. If that is not offered, I certainly will have to look elsewhere when the time comes to replace the smart...