Photo: Remco Meulendijk/RM Car Design
Back in 2005, smart was getting ready to launch its fourth model at the time, completing a lineup that already included the fortwo, the Roadster, and the forfour.
Daimler's diminutive branch wanted to build a so-called smartUV, a slightly bigger vehicle with four-wheel-drive and a more rugged appearance. The project was taken pretty close to its conclusion, with a few prototypes showing what could have been.
The SUV was going to be called the formore (forfive was probably deemed too predictable) and would look like a jacked-up version of the forfour model. It was supposedly developed on a Mercedes-Benz GLK platform, which meant the formore wouldn't have been cheap at all, but also cast a favorable light on its off-road abilities.
Daimler and smart must be kicking themselves right now for blowing the opportunity to create the first small SUV, a segment that is now one of the most hotly contested on the market. Not only that, but it would have predated the MINI Countryman by a full five years.
Well, if smart were to introduce the formore now, it still wouldn't be too late. Of course, a few alterations would have to be made, and it would most definitely not use the GLC platform as a starting point. The new smart formore would have to be significantly smaller, even though the current forfour doesn't look like a good foundation to build upon either.
The long and narrow silhouette of the four-door smart isn't exactly what customers look for in an SUV, be it one of this size. You might point out toward the Suzuki Jimny and say it manages to pull it off, but it's not nearly the same thing.
Remco Meulendijk of RM Car Design imagined what this new off-roader from smart would look like, and he might be closer to the truth. It's not so much a new model than a mild conversion of the existing forfour. With a bit of plastic added on the wheel arches and the two bumpers, a set of roofrails and a slightly lifted suspension that is strangely missing from the drawing, the smart forfour could pass as a new formore.
Still, there is one catch: as you probably know, the smart forfour (like the fortwo) is a rear-wheel-drive car, so the classic approach in this segment of offering four-wheel-drive as an option nobody goes for would be a little risky. Just imagine the image blow smart would suffer when all of its smatUVs would be put to hibernate the first sign of snow.
The SUV was going to be called the formore (forfive was probably deemed too predictable) and would look like a jacked-up version of the forfour model. It was supposedly developed on a Mercedes-Benz GLK platform, which meant the formore wouldn't have been cheap at all, but also cast a favorable light on its off-road abilities.
Daimler and smart must be kicking themselves right now for blowing the opportunity to create the first small SUV, a segment that is now one of the most hotly contested on the market. Not only that, but it would have predated the MINI Countryman by a full five years.
Well, if smart were to introduce the formore now, it still wouldn't be too late. Of course, a few alterations would have to be made, and it would most definitely not use the GLC platform as a starting point. The new smart formore would have to be significantly smaller, even though the current forfour doesn't look like a good foundation to build upon either.
The long and narrow silhouette of the four-door smart isn't exactly what customers look for in an SUV, be it one of this size. You might point out toward the Suzuki Jimny and say it manages to pull it off, but it's not nearly the same thing.
Remco Meulendijk of RM Car Design imagined what this new off-roader from smart would look like, and he might be closer to the truth. It's not so much a new model than a mild conversion of the existing forfour. With a bit of plastic added on the wheel arches and the two bumpers, a set of roofrails and a slightly lifted suspension that is strangely missing from the drawing, the smart forfour could pass as a new formore.
Still, there is one catch: as you probably know, the smart forfour (like the fortwo) is a rear-wheel-drive car, so the classic approach in this segment of offering four-wheel-drive as an option nobody goes for would be a little risky. Just imagine the image blow smart would suffer when all of its smatUVs would be put to hibernate the first sign of snow.
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