Smart has revealed a range of new teaser images showing its upcoming electric SUV during testing.
First shown in concept form last year at the Munich motor show, Smart is now preparing it for launch during testing. Now confirmed to be called the ‘#1’ – a naming strategy that will also be used on forthcoming cars – the model retains the funky styling of the concept, with its boxy profile and intricate LED front lighting.
Though bearing a heavy camouflage that disguises key details of the car, the model can be seen undergoing wind tunnel testing to ensure it’s ready for production. The firm said that the car’s “quality, performance and reliability demonstrate the power of seamless cooperation between Mercedes-Benz global design team and Smart’s engineering department”.
Smart says the model’s 0.29 drag coefficient performance is one of the best in its segment, with this being important as it has an impact on efficiency, and therefore how far the car can go on a single charge. Stability and refinement are also influenced by this.
Full details of the model are still under wraps, though Smart has confirmed that details such as concealed door handles and active grille shutters will make production, which also help to improve the #1’s efficiency.
Alongside wind tunnel testing, the car has also been trialled in the far north of China, at temperatures of around minus 40 degrees celsius. Smart said the car showed ‘excellent resistance to the extreme cold’.
Yang Jun, vice president of research and development, said: “The Smart #1 is a masterpiece of engineering. The pre-market test results also prove the outstanding quality, performance and reliability of the Smart #1. With the car due to launch later this year, these developments make us confident that it will be well received by its future customers.”
Smart is known for its compact city cars, with the firm announcing in 2019 it would become an electric-only brand. The firm is now co-owned by automotive giants Mercedes-Benz and Geely, with the former taking care of design, and the latter looking after engineering.
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