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Smart ForFour prototype spotted alongside next-gen ForTwo

Smart is continuing to test its upcoming ForFour (seen above) model and the replacement for the ForTwo (pictured at the right), this time doing some cold-weather work in Sweden.
As we've reported previously, the ForFour is an all-new vehicle, and it will have more in common with the smaller ForTwo than the short-lived last model that was co-developed with Mitsubishi. This ForFour is instead a collaborative project with Renault, and could spawn what will ultimately become the new Renault Twingo. Some reports have it that Renault is no longer interested in the Smart partnership, but the fact that these testers were wearing French plates and were spotted caravanning with a French-registered Dacia Duster adds a bit of circumstantial evidence that the match is intact.
The new ForTwo was also spied in these snowy environs. The two-seater is expected to be ready to roll before the ForFour - likely coming to market in 2014. The ForFour, meanwhile, might not show up until 2015.

Meet the Smart Fortwo that should be competing in the 2013 Dakar Rally [w/video]

When it comes to specialty applications of the Smart Fortwo, "off-road motorsports" may seem about as likely as "amphibious assault vehicle." Yet a team has come up with just that (the former, not the latter), creating a rally-ready runabout dubbed the Smart Dakar.
The team used a Fortwo to create a "Smart Buggy 4x4." The creator's website claims that the vehicle is in compliance with FIA regulations, and weighs only 750 kilograms (1,653 pounds). As the name suggests, the intent of this vehicle is to compete in the Dakar Rally, and it looks the part.
It may be the most hard-nosed Smart that you'll ever find, but it has an uphill battle to make it to competition. The race team, headed by Jose Luis "JL" Alvarez, does not have the funds to field a full assortment of vehicles, including two Smarts and a Honda CRF-450, and now all plans have been canceled for this year's Dakar Rally.

Next-gen Smart lineup growing to three models

Still in the testing phases of the next-generation Smart Fortwo and the new Forfour model, Smart could also be planning a new crossover to reach into a more mainstream vehicle segment. According to Auto Express, soon after the redesigned Fortwo arrives in 2014, the Smart lineup will grow to include the other two models by 2015.
As expected, the renderings of the new Fortwo, Forfour and the unnamed Smart SUV are inspired heavily by recent concepts like the 2011 Forvision Concept and the 2012 Forstars Concept (pictured above). One interesting note is that Auto Express says both the Fortwo and Forfour will offer a removable tablet as a center stack display screen. The report says that while these cars were developed alongside the Renault Twingo, the French automaker will only be using the larger of the two hatchbacks for its new model.
This, reportedly, won't be the only tie up between Daimler and Nissan-Renault, though, as Smart also looks to add a new crossover based on the next-generation Nissan Juke, which could arrive by late 2015.

Missouri Mercedes dealer offering free Smart with every SLS AMG purchase

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT is an exquisite sports car that probably needs no help flying off dealer lots, even with a starting price of almost $200,000, but Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City has come up with an interesting incentive to sweeten the deal. For buyers who purchase a new SLS AMG from dealer stock before the end of the year, the dealership is throwing in a new Smart Fortwo from its inventory at no charge... with a required coupon no less.
In addition to being a great tactic to get a little free press, the spare car also makes sense as an alternative to the SLS, which measures more than 15-feet long - almost twice the length of a Fortwo - and has a 563-horsepower engine that sucks down gas at the rate of 13 miles per gallon in city driving (and even that's provided you don't give in to the devil on your shoulder). Plus, at the end of the day, this really isn't that big of an incentive. Being given a slow-selling $12,490 car for the purchase of a model starting at $199,500 represents about a six percent incentive, which is along the lines of a $1,900 rebate for a $30,000 car.
To get the free Smart, just visit the Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Facebook page, redeem the coupon and then go buy yourself a new SLS AMG. Congratulations!

Fashion designer Jeremy Scott gives Smart Fortwo Electric some wing bling [w/video]

If you were to gaze upon the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive and ponder what you might add to sort of, you know, set it off a bit, you probably wouldn't consider adding a pair of wings. That's because you are not Jeremy Scott. He, on the other hand, would do exactly that. And has.
That's right, that winged wonder you see pictured above is not some sort of Redbull-induced hallucination. Rather, it is the result of a creative collaboration between Mercedes-Benz Cars Advanced Design Studios and the aforementioned famed fashion designer called, appropriately enough, the Smart ForJeremy. And, it has just made its debut at the LA Auto Show.
Besides the faux-feather flourishes that light up when the brakes are applied, the outward appearance of this 2013 limited special edition is tarted up with a custom set of propeller-inspired wheels with just enough shiny to balance the chromed finish of its tridion shell, mirrors and, um, "eyebrows."

2013 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive

Little Daimler Child Finally Nails It With Electrons
Since the official launch of the Smart Fortwo in October 1998, the little company within Daimler has never made a profit. Far from it. Not for lack of trying, certainly. Many of us know well the story of myriad attempts to force the world to adopt the Smart way of living in the automotive sense, only to have the various chapters conclude in a disillusioning crash and financial burn.
Smart is still trying desperately to find its proper path as a global player that sells rather well - and not just in London and a few Italian and German cities. They insist that China is the great frontier nowadays for the Fortwo in all of its trims, and they still want to figure out North America.

Smart Electric Drive ad offers blockbuster treatment for tiny car

Drama, suspense, romance, horror - just about everything you might want from a great big-budget flick has been packed into this minute-long masterpiece from Smart (or its ad agency, anyway).
Smart has been pushing its 2013 ForTwo fairly aggressively over recent weeks, debuting new series of commercials aimed at changing minds about the diminutive two-seater. This spot for the upcoming ForTwo Electric Drive is no different, but it may just be the best of the bunch.
Watch all the way through - it's worth it.

Smart ForTwo Electric Drive will be cheapest EV at $25,000*

We're getting our first drive in the 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive today, and Smart just announced pricing for the latest version of its all-electric minicar. The starting price for the ForTwo ED Coupe will be $25,000 (*plus delivery fees), making it the lowest price electric vehicle in the U.S. from a mainstream automaker - and that doesn't even include the available $7,500 federal tax credit.
With the tax credit figured in, the starting price works out to $17,500. Add in the required $825 destination charge and up to $2,200 for a home charger, and the 2013 ForTwo ED Coupe will essentially start at just $20,525 - $1,100 cheaper than the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Of course, customers who already have home charging stations can save even more. Smart has said that it will offer two different home chargers that range in price from $1,300 to $1,700, and it is estimating installation will cost somewhere in the $300 to $500 range.
While we do know the starting prices for the new ForTwo ED, options and lease prices have not been announced. For comparison, the previous-generation ForTwo ED had a lease price of $599 a month.

2015 Smart ForFour caught in early testing

In the U.S., we've come to know the Smart brand just for its ForTwo, but other markets have seen a wider variety of models from the Daimler brand including the Smart ForFour that was produced from 2004 through 2006. This bigger vehicle from Smart added two extra doors and a rear seat for some passenger space. While we've already seen spy photos for the next ForTwo, judging by these spy shots of a stretched-wheelbase test mule, Smart is hard at work developing a next-generation ForFour as well.
Although the previous ForFour was a result of a collaboration between Daimler and Mitsubishi, the new model is going to be a venture between Daimler and Nissan/Renault. Under the Penske ownership, it was announced that the new Smart B-segment car would be based on the Nissan Micra (which was later scrapped), but we hear that this car will actually ride on a new platform that will eventually be the basis for the next Renault Twingo. Like the current and upcoming ForTwo, the 2015 ForFour will be a rear-engine/rear-wheel-drive car.
While we don't have any information as to what will power the new Smart ForFour, we can almost guarantee that it (along with the new ForTwo) will have a styling that will be very similar to recent Smart concept cars like the ForStars, For-Us and ForVision. The new ForTwo is expected to go on sale in 2014 with the bigger ForFour hitting dealers a year later.

Smart Forstars Concept is a rolling drive-in movie theater in orange

Smart tells us that its new Forstars Concept is a Sports Utility Coupé. We're pretty sure that's a misnomer. After all, the electric powertrain, while supremely efficient, isn't a powerhouse. Plus, with room for just two occupants and a golf bag plus toiletries, utility doesn't really seem to be its forte either.
So, what is the Smart Forstars good for? Well, judging from our image gallery, it makes an excellent prop for impossibly cute auto show models to lean against. Plus, it's got a completely clear roof, which is how it got its name - you can stare at the stars... get it? Oh, and it also sports an integrated projector on its hood for impromptu drive-in movie nights.
Power comes from a 60-kW electric motor and 17.6-kWh lithium ion battery pack, and Smart claims a top speed of 80 miles per hour.