It looks a new Smart car will be making its debut at the New York Auto Show. The 2016 Smart Fortwo will feature a very prominent front grille vented with a honeycomb pattern that seem to fade out at the edges. There’s also the signature ‘tridion cell’ that comes on Smart cars, giving the exterior that two-toned finish. With the Smart Fortwo, customers are given a number of colour choices for the grille and ‘tridion cell’ such as black, cool silver and white.
Daimler are co-producing the new car with Renault, state that the new car will incorporate both standard and advanced safety features. The aforementioned ‘tridion cell’ forms a cage of ultra-high strength steel to protect the occupants, while Crosswind Assist, forward collision warning systems and a few other Mercedes-derived safety features will be available on the new Smart car.
Power comes in the form of a new all-aluminium turbocharged three cylinder 900cc petrol engine producing 89 hp. It will be equipped with either a 5-speed manual or a dual-clutch autobox. In traditional Smart car fashion, the new Fortwo will feature tiny dimensions, overhands and an extremely tight turning circle. Though a microcar in every sense of the word, the interior room is said to maximise what space is available through clever design and engineering.
When it debuts in North America, three equipment levels named ‘passion’, ‘prime’ and ‘proxy’ as well as a base line model called ‘pure’ will be offered. Standard equipment includes LED daytime driving lights, central locking with radio remote control, cruise control, multifunction steering wheel, smart radio with CD-Player, Bluetooth (handsfree/audio streaming), power steering, exterior temperature indicator with frost warning, instrument cluster with 3.5 in color display and trip computer, and power windows.
