Smart fortwo

Smart has officially been around for 20 years. The city-car maker burst onto the scene in July 1998, with a two-seater (the inventively named ForTwo) measuring just over 2.5m long. More than 2.2 million examples have been sold since then, across 46 markets around the world. Australia was one of them, but the little Smart didn't really fit into our big-car-centric culture, and so the brand was withdrawn from the market in 2015.

Just days after being teased on social media, the Smart Vision EQ Fortwo concept has been revealed ahead of the Frankfurt motor show. Launching under parent Mercedes-Benz's new 'EQ' electric sub-brand, the Smart Vision EQ Fortwo show car measures a diminutive 2699mm long, 1720mm wide and 1535mm tall, and potentially previews the next-generation of the urban carmaker's smallest model, the Fortwo.

The one-off Smart ForGigs concept car has been kitted out with a 5720W JBL sound system and is, in the words of its maker, "probably the world's smallest concert hall on wheels". Much of the car's ear-catching audio system has been fitted into the boot and, as such, there's no space for luggage, aside from what you can cram into the passenger cell.

Mercedes-Benz is yet to decide whether the Smart brand has a future in Australia beyond its current generation of models, with the business case to import new versions of the ultra-niche city cars not yet established with head office in Germany.

The second-generation Smart ForFour has been seen for the first time while undergoing winter testing in Sweden. Seen driving on ice and snow and inside a shed alongside its smaller and previously spied ForTwo sibling, the Smart ForFour is still heavily camouflaged, though it does appear to have different headlight clusters.