Smart’s Tiny Two-Door EV Is Back

• Smart has unveiled the next generation of its diminutive EV.
• It’s called the Smart #2, and it draws inspiration from Smart’s first model, the Fortwo.
• The first model is just a concept for now, but a production version is coming later this year.

The Smart car brand is back with a new generation of the model that put the company on the map back in the late 1990s. This is the all-new Smart #2, the spiritual successor to the Smart Fortwo, the tiny two-door urban runabout that’s known around the world for being so small that two cars will fit side by side in a single parking space.

It’s just a concept for now, but a production version is coming in October. The mass-market model will likely feature a slightly toned-down design, without all the gold bling and built-in LED displays in the front bumper. That said, the basics will still be there, and they’re the same as in the original Smart car that debuted in 1998.

It has just two doors and can accommodate two people. However, unlike its predecessors, the fourth-generation Smart city car will be available exclusively with an electric powertrain that promises a manufacturer-estimated driving range of about 186 miles (300 kilometers). That’s significantly more than the previous model, the EQ Fortwo, which was sold as a 2017 model in the U.S. with an EPA-rated range of just 58 miles.

Charging will also be much faster than the old model, with a 10-to-80% top-up taking less than 20 minutes on the new Smart #2. The battery’s capacity and charging power have yet to be made public, but the Chinese-made urban EV will feature vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality, enabling drivers to export energy from the main battery to power gadgets and appliances.

There are no photos of the interior, but I expect the production model to feature a slimmed-down version of the Smart #5 crossover’s cabin, with a digital instrument cluster and a large central infotainment touchscreen. 

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Source: Smart

The finished version of the Smart #2 will be based on what the Chinese automaker calls the Electric Compact Architecture (ECA). As a reminder, the Smart brand is a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely, and all of the marque’s models are made in China.

There’s no word on the final dimensions, but the production-ready Smart #2 will likely be similar in size to the previous-generation Fortwo, which was around 106 inches (2.7 meters) long. When it debuts at this year’s Paris Motor Show in October, it will become one of the smallest new EVs in Europe, undercutting the Dacia Spring, Renault Twingo, and BYD Dolphin Surf by at least a dozen inches.