Small is finally beautiful again. Fiat has its new small micromobility strategy, while Renault is rapidly downsizing and getting rave reviews in the process. Then there are tiny machines like the Microlino, the Citroën Ami and even the amiable Amble One are upending the contemporary idea of what small scale transportation looks like.
Smart Concept #02 in Rome
If there’s one voice that’s currently missing in action from this transition, it’s Smart. The progenitors of the tiny two-seat city car, thanks to the 1998 Smart City-Coupé, the company will be taking the wraps off its long-awaited Smart #02 at this year’s Paris Motor Show in October.
We travelled to Rome to get a sneak preview, courtesy of the Smart Concept #02, an elaborate, high-specification teaser for the production model.
Eagerly awaited: Smart Concept #02
Why Rome? It turns out that the city is something of a hotspot for Smart ownership over the years, something to do with the narrow, twisting streets, general scarcity of parking spaces and the Roman desire to always be somewhere as quickly as possible.
The short trip from the airport certainly confirmed the company’s claims – we’ve never seen so many Smarts in the wild within such a small slice of city, bumper to bumper, bumper to curb, whistling through traffic, tucked into tiny spots. Apparently, there are still several thousand in daily use across the city.
Smart Concept #02
Given that the modern iteration of Smart is just as much a part of Chinese manufacturer Geely as it is Mercedes-Benz (Smart was originally purely a Benz off-shoot), the #02 must navigate urban culture and expectations in two very different parts of the world.
China is a very screen-focused market, where cars are a liminal space between home and work, providing connectivity and separation from the environment you are travelling through. In European cities, the most successful small cars have amplified the sense of being in the city, rather than being insulated from it.
A sketch of the Concept #02
The Rome event also marked the debut of the concept interior, as well as technical details of the new ECA platform that sits beneath this most diminutive of electric machines. Inside, innovations that should translate into production include the wave-shaped dashboard, a bench seat and oodles of oddment storage around the cabin.
Interior sketch of the Concept #02
Elements that probably won’t survive to the showrooms include the exterior straps with their gold fasteners and the exaggerated, Smart logo-strewn grille. This gives the little car the feel of an upscale designer accessory, a trinket for the town much like a fancy bag.
The exterior is festooned with straps and fasteners
As other manufacturers are discovering, the one-size-fits-all global automobile is something of a phantom, with more and more market-specific models further bisecting the epic amount of choice available to the consumer.
Once upon a time, differences were marked in trim levels and colour choices; these days, it’s different strokes for different folks as Europe stays wedded to its SUVs, China prefers MPVs and the US, well, the US is still deep in the mythos of the pick-up truck.
Design sketch, Smart Concept #02
With that in mind, you can consider the Concept #02 to be pretty China-centric in its styling, colour and trim. The original Smart Car was only available as a special import into the country but still garnered a cult following (although not quite as much as Italy, where c600k were sold).
The new model is expected to do even better, although it’s the European market that embraced Smart more than any other – a German reinterpretation of Italian sensibilities, filtered through Chinese finance and ambition.
The new ECA platform underpins the Smart #02
The ECA platform promises much, with agility, safety and range prioritised. Although on the one hand, Smart’s team asks ‘why should cities redesign themselves around the car, when cars can re-shape themselves for the city,’ other Geely teams – not to mention Mercedes – are perfectly content to ramp up the scale and power of passenger cars.
But we’re here to revel in the smartness of Smart, and all the clever details that made the original so different. The #02 will have a similarly tight turning circle – 6.95m. It’ll pack a 35kWh battery, twice the power of the rather woeful first generation Smart Fortwo electric drive (which couldn’t even manage 70 miles). ‘It’s not designed to be a hero of long-distance travel,’ the Smart team admits, but a low three-figure range is enough for even the most colossal Chinese conurbation.
Smart Europe CEO Wolfgang Ufer doubles down on the European focus. 'European cities have always been the natural home of the Smart two-seater. Long before mobility became a challenge in urban areas worldwide, smart had already created solutions around the realities of city life… Urban mobility does not need to be more complicated. It needs to be more intelligent, more desirable and better aligned with how people actually live and move through cities.'
Look beyond the chunky, Lego-style influence, the accretions and accessories that resemble automotive charm bracelets, and that soft luxe white-and-gold colour scheme and sci-fi wheels and tyres, and you'll see a pretty accurate representation of the finished Smart #02. The first deliveries aren't expected until some time next year, when Smart will once again be fighting fit in the most challenging automotive arena of all.
Design sketch, Smart Concept #02
Smart #02, available 2027, more information at UK.Smart.com, @Smart_Worldwide