Yahoo Autos The Electric Smart Forease Concept Celebrates 20 Years of City-Car Styling
The Smart division of Daimler is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and the brand is celebrating in the form of the new Forease concept. Debuting at the Paris auto show early next month, the concept is a roofless electric car that was inspired by the original Fortwo's "reduce to the max" motto, according to Smart.
The concept is based on the current Fortwo Electric Drive but with a layer of concept-car absurdity slathered on top. The most apparent differences are the cropped-down windshield and the absence of any sort of roof; it appears intentionally reminiscent of the 2001 Crossblade and 2011 Forspeed concepts. At the front, there's a unique bumper with square LED lights in the blocked-off "grille," and the door handles have been made flush with the body. Two roll hoops aft of the seats flow into a ducktail-style spoiler above the taillights, and there is a large diffuser at the rear.
Inside, the top half of the steering wheel has been lopped off, with Smart giving no explanation for that design choice. Two display screens replace the central air vents, and the audio system's speakers are integrated into the wall between the seatbacks. The Forease has white perforated upholstery that matches the metallic white exterior, and Stream Green accents are carried from the outside throughout the interior.
Smart gave no details on the Forease's powertrain, but the Fortwo Electric Drive isn't exactly a speed demon. It's powered by an electric motor with 80 horsepower and 118 lb-ft of torque, and, like the former gasoline-powered Fortwos, it's rear-wheel drive. With its 17.6-kWh battery pack, the tiny car has an EPA-rated electric range of just 58 miles-57 in the cabrio version.
Smart has been an electric-only brand in the United States since 2017, and by 2020 it will be EV only in Europe as well. The company claims that the Forease previews the future of the brand, emphasizing that "electric cars for use in the city will be anything but boring." Here's hoping that's true and future production Smarts actually will get a little more radical.
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