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Smart ForTwo sketches detail new car a day before launch

An official Mercedes-Benz blog post has put up sketches, which confirm the look of and some details about the new Smart ForTwo city hatch.


The new pictures were posted on the Mercedes-Benz Museum's Passion Blog just over 24 hours ahead of the official unveiling of the second generation Smart ForTwo and ForFour.

Ignore the greatly exaggerated alloy wheels, and you have the look of the next generation ForTwo hatch. Despite being all new, the new ForTwo maintains a very clear link with its first two iterations thanks to the alternate colour Tridion safety cell, its short and tall proportions, and door design graphics.

Inside, the ForTwo features a stark but handsome minimalism. Ahead of the driver there's a large semi-circular instrument pod containing a half-moon LCD screen framed by a speedometer.

The only dials and knobs visible in the sketch are steering wheel buttons, a gear lever and air conditioning controls on the lower section of the dash. Everything else is controlled via a freestanding touchscreen.

Unlike the first two generations of the ForTwo, the new car features a two-box shape with a flatter more conventional bonnet.

The rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout is carried over from earlier generations, but this time around the underpinnings are shared with the Renault Twingo.

Reports indicate that the ForTwo and ForFour will initially be powered by a range of three-cylinder petrol engines, including a 51kW naturally aspirated version and a 66kW turbocharged variant.

With slow sales since the brand launched down under in 2003, the brand's Australian future is under a cloud, and the new ForTwo and ForFour may not make the long journey to the antipodes.

Smart's best sales year was 2005 when it sold 799 cars from its ForTwo, Mitsubishi Colt-based ForFour and Roadster lines. So far this year just 38 Smarts have found new homes nationwide.

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