Smart details the #2 ahead of debut
Words: Kyle Cassidy
Smart’s return to tiny two-seaters is taking shape, with the brand revealing battery, range and chassis details for its upcoming #2 ahead of its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show on 12 October.
The electric successor to the Fortwo measures less than three metres long and targets around 300km of WLTP range. There’s no confirmation yet on whether it will reach New Zealand.
Revealed at a technical workshop in Beijing, the preliminary specifications include a 35.8kWh battery and a kerb-to-kerb turning circle of just 6.95m. That should make squeezing through city streets and doubling back for a parking space very much its thing.
Smart cautions that the figures remain subject to homologation, with the range target still to be certified.
Small footprint, new platform
Underneath is a new platform called Electric Compact Architecture, developed specifically for the compact model by Smart’s global engineering team.
The battery uses CATL cells, with a claimed 10–80 per cent DC charging time of 20 minutes. Helping fit everything into the small footprint is an 11-in-1 drive unit that combines the motor, power electronics and control functions.
Like the original Fortwo, the #2 sends its power to the rear wheels. Smart quotes an even 50:50 weight distribution and says it’s the only car under three metres long with five-link independent rear suspension.
Every version also gets staggered tyre widths, with narrower rubber at the front than at the rear.
The Mercedes-Benz design team has handled the styling, retaining the original’s wheels-at-the-corners stance and short overhangs.
Familiar safety cell returns
Another Fortwo feature making a comeback is the visible Tridion safety cell, now developed into what Smart calls the Tridion Cell Evo.
More than 78 per cent of the body structure is high-strength steel, with some materials rated to 1800MPa. Smart also quotes torsional stiffness of 39,000Nm per degree and a roof load rating exceeding four tonnes.
Seven airbags are fitted, while the seatbelts use pyrotechnic lap pretensioners and a locking tongue to help limit forward movement during a crash.
Smart says the #2 completed the moose test, which assesses a vehicle’s response to a sudden avoidance manoeuvre, at 78km/h. It also quotes a static rollover angle of 45.9 degrees.
“The smart #2 embodies the essence of smart. It brings our iconic two-seater into a new electric era, combining an ultra-compact footprint with intelligent technology, uncompromising safety and the effortless urban agility that has always defined smart,” says smart global chief marketing officer Kang Yi.
The #2 first surfaced in Chinese regulatory filings in August. Its Paris unveiling is next, while a decision on New Zealand availability remains unannounced.
