A new electric concept from Smart will be revealed at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The Smart Forvision concept will not only introduce a completely electric setup to the car, the model is also a preview of the future design direction the brand intends on taking on its next generation Fortwo models.
The zero emissions prototype has been developed on the new Renault-Nissan electric platform and has been made in collaboration with BASF using new energy saving solutions. On a design front the model shows similarities with the Smart Forspeed concept seen at Geneva, and uses CFRP for many of its components.
Technical features like the organic solar cells on the roof which create energy to supply the multimedia components and air conditioning might eventually disappear from a production model, as would the plastic wheels as a weight saving device. Other devices include innovative e-textile upholstery which actually produces heat and insulation in the body panels for improved internal temperature control.
Smart hasn’t confirmed production of the Forvision concept as such, although some of the technologies being used could find their way onto the third-generation Fortwo model expected to be launched in 2012. Other innovations are still in the developmental stage, and there’s no word on a fully electric production Smart. More to come from the Frankfurt Show.
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