Photo: biauto.com
The official debut of the new smart cars is scheduled to take place in Berlin tonight. However, it seems the internet will not wait for anything, not even a German automaker. What look like official press photos for tonight presentation have leaked online this morning. They show both the two-door fortwo and the slightly larger forfour, which we weren't sure was coming out yet, during a photo shooting in China.
What do we think? In short: much better than before. The forfour is a huge improvement on its Mitsubishi-Based predecessor. In a combination of bright orange and sleek gray, it's as subtle as a Nike running shoe.
Right, now on to the interior, which is a nice mix of bright orange, grays and blacks, just like a funky Swatch timepiece. Four circular air vents pop out of the dash like the eyes of hermit crab and have a three-pointed star designs inserted, clearly a Mercedes reference. A large circular radio with clearly arranged buttons floats over the middle of the console, flanked on the left side by a sexy round speedometer binnacle.
As for the things you use for driving, the steering wheel is very sporty, with recesses for your fingers at the perfect 9 and 3 grip points. Three aluminum pedals and a 5-speed gearbox make things as clear as daylight: there's a manual gearbox in the smart and it's from Renault.
According to Chinese website biauto.com, which seems to be the source of these leaked photos, the new smart models will come with two 0.9-liter engines with three cylinders. The base is naturally aspirated and produces 70 PS. It's accompanied by a rear-mounted version of the 90 PS 0.9 TCe from the Renault Clio.
Right, now on to the interior, which is a nice mix of bright orange, grays and blacks, just like a funky Swatch timepiece. Four circular air vents pop out of the dash like the eyes of hermit crab and have a three-pointed star designs inserted, clearly a Mercedes reference. A large circular radio with clearly arranged buttons floats over the middle of the console, flanked on the left side by a sexy round speedometer binnacle.
As for the things you use for driving, the steering wheel is very sporty, with recesses for your fingers at the perfect 9 and 3 grip points. Three aluminum pedals and a 5-speed gearbox make things as clear as daylight: there's a manual gearbox in the smart and it's from Renault.
According to Chinese website biauto.com, which seems to be the source of these leaked photos, the new smart models will come with two 0.9-liter engines with three cylinders. The base is naturally aspirated and produces 70 PS. It's accompanied by a rear-mounted version of the 90 PS 0.9 TCe from the Renault Clio.
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