Spyshots: 2012 smart fortwo Mule...

...stretched fortwo in the making? Well, this is the rumor of the day coming from France, where German carmaker Daimler was caught testing a mule of its smart fortwo. Apparently, the smallest car in the Stuttgart-based carmaker's line-up is about to get bigger.

How much bigger no one is sure yet. The rumor about a smart which can fit more than two medium-to-small individuals has been around for the better part of the year.

If we are to pick up the idea launched back in July that Daimler is working with Renault on a forfour-like version of the smart and these spyshots here, than we might be on to something...

What is more likely is that the new smart will come (sometimes in 2012, true) in the form a fortwo+2, a bigger version of the fortwo, with enough room for four people (again, medium-to-small individuals...). The new smart will also get rear doors, for easier access.

According to the very sketchy and limited information available, the fortwo+2 will retain the rear-wheel-drive, but will b built on an extended wheelbase.

What will power the fortwo+2 - which, by the way, may be the name of the new model - is an array of different powerplants, including a passive hybrid and, why not, a full electric version. We say this especially because the electric fortwo will enter series production at about the same time as the projected release of the new model.

With plenty of time remaining until the fortwo+2 gets here, we are sure more information is to surface.