2012 Smart For-Us Concept: The Rule-Breaker
Smart is as usual making grate challenges with the ideas that it have presented recently. And more precisely what I consider as a challenging idea is the vision of Smart for an urban pickup. This would probably be the best car not only for the young and people with active lives, but also for those who attach importance to low emissions and taking up minimum road space.
As usual the exterior dimensions of the car are designed the minimal possible: length/width/height: 3547/1506/1701mm. It is so small that it could almost go unseen on the loading area of a pickup. On the other hand this Smart includes state-of-the-art electric drive with a 55 kW magneto-electric motor. The world-premier of the car will be at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit between 14th and 22d January 2012).
The aim of this Smart pick-up manufacturer is obviously to make them small on the outside and at the same time large on the inside Of course, not forgetting the safety and high comfortability.
The smart for-us is a mobility concept that will be perfect for bringing more flexibility in the city traffic. You might be amazed that it has plenty of room for two people and space for two smart ebikes behind them! Moreover you can always charge you batteries thanks to the docking station on the cargo area of the smart for-us. What makes the Smart a special car it is the accessibility of destinations that are out of bounds for other cars. For instance this might be traffic-calmed zones in the city or isolated park trails.
The smart for-us not only makes a powerful statement but also its appearance is achieving the one of the conventional mega-pickups. The body is shaped sensuously and with curved lines. Of course the large brand emblem can be proudly seen on the grille. Furthermore the front has a great three-dimensional design (which will immediately catch the attention) with an underride guard finishing off the lower part of the front end.
Smart manufacturer has used the longer wheelbase (2480 mm/plus 613 mm). Therefore the track has been widened by 50 mm on each side. This also makes an emphasis of the robust look of the vehicle. Meanwhile the extremely short overhangs at the front and rear make it extremely compact. Furthermore the tailboard at the rear of the smart for-us is electrically driven. When it opens first of all the cargo floor including tailboard retracts by 280 mm, then the tailgate slides down in a parallel position. All of this makes the cargo on the 900 mm cargo area very easily accessable.
However the interior is characterized by contrasts. For example it has the sleek and taut surfaces coloured in white and at the same time has the precisely designed technical functional elements in brushed aluminium. Moreover the whole cockpit enhances the aerodynamic styling for interior ventilation. On the place of the rear-view mirror it has been placed an innovation: a smartphone accommodated in a holder on top of the instrument panel support. In this way the driver can see the road behind them thank to the integrated video camera.
Smart for-us is definitely full of style and highly functional without being too complicated. Moreover what is really appealing is the fact that it is easy to individualise it. It includes two seats in the concept car which are typical for smart. At the same time the seat shells are open in the middle and are covered with a soft yellow fabric throw which will give the passengers a comfortable seating feel.
What has to be highlighted here is that the electric drive of the smart for-us! It is being based on the brand new drive concept of the smart fortwo electric drive, which will be presented firstly in the spring of 2012. The 55 kW magneto-electric motor makes the Smart for-us is agile and lively to drive in the city! And not forgetting the 130 Newton metres of torque, which makes the Smart for-us a powerful, lag-free acceleration vehicle, which can overtake other automobiles at ease! To be more precise thee maximum speed exceeds 120 km/h. And if you wonder about the power of the lithium-ion battery – it has the capacity of 17.6 kWh.
Source: Daimler
