This is what Smart Concept #2 might look like. Image Credit: Captain Electro.
If you have ever tried to park a modern SUV in a city center, you know it is like trying to fit a hippo into a pair of skinny jeans. It is a sweaty disaster that way too often ends in tears and a ruined bumper. This is why the original Smart ForTwo was such a stroke of genius. It was a motorized backpack. You didn't park it - you discarded it in a gap between two "real" cars and went about your day. But then, Smart decided to grow up, get a mortgage, and start building crossovers. Thankfully, someone in the office has finally put down the kale smoothie and remembered what made the brand great.
The legendary ForTwo breathed its last breath in 2024, leaving a tiny, pebble-shaped hole in our hearts. But dry your eyes, because the Smart Concept #2 has arrived to save us from the tyranny of the three-point turn. This is the spiritual heir to that original 1998 icon, and it is making its grand debut at the Beijing Auto Show. Do not let the name confuse you - it is a total shambles. In Smart's new world, the #2 is actually smaller and cheaper than the #1 - it is like counting backward while falling down a flight of stairs, but we will let that slide for now because the car looks like an absolute riot.
Image Credit: Smart.
From the teaser sketches, it is clear the silhouette is pure nostalgia. It has that classic "I might tip over in a stiff breeze" profile we all know and love. This time around, the designers have given it some serious muscle - the wheel arches are fatter than a prize-winning hog at the Highland Show. It sports the new family face seen on its bigger brothers, the #1 and #3, but scaled down to fit on a vehicle that is roughly the size of a 4-slice toaster. It is cute, but it looks like it has been hitting the gym and taking some supplements.
The detail that got me curious is the "luxury" aspect - smallest Smart is apparently too posh for plastic seats these days. The concept is draped in matte white and warm gold. The company claims the interior is inspired by "fashion accessories" - there are leather touches and even "buckle-like elements." I love a bit of flair, but I want a car, not a designer handbag with wheels… Smart is seemingly moving away from the "cheap and cheerful" vibe of the old days and aiming for a "premium EV" title. It is no longer a budget bin on wheels - it is a tiny, electric palace for two people who probably own very expensive sunglasses.
Image Credit: Smart.
Building this thing was apparently an absolute nightmare for the engineers. CEO Tong Xiangbei admitted that cramming batteries, motors, and safety tech into something this wee felt like playing engineering Tetris at the expert level. Big cars are easy - you throw a giant battery under the floor and call it a day. In a car this small, you have to find compromise between a decent range or having enough space for a loaf of bread and a pint of milk. We do not have the exact battery capacity yet, but it will apparently have around 30 kWh of juice for a single electric motor sitting on the rear axle. It will be optimized for zip-around-town duties rather than cross-country marathons, but it still is nearly double the size compared to the old model.
The #2 is the star for the enthusiasts, but Smart is also showing off the #6 EHD fastback sedan in Beijing. Sadly, that one is for the Chinese market only. It was designed by the Mercedes-Benz global team and looks like a cut-price version of the Mercedes EQE. Sleek, aerodynamic, and probably very sensible. But who wants sensible when you can have a gold-trimmed microcar that fits in your pocket? The #6 is the responsible adult at the party, while the Concept #2 is the one wearing a gold suit and dancing on the tables.
This is what Smart Concept #2 might look like. Image Credit: Captain Electro.
I am already on the ground in Beijing, dodging traffic and trying to find a decent cup of tea, waiting for the full reveal on April 22. I'm dying to see if those "fashion" buckles make it to the production line and how many US dollars we will have to fork over for this premium pebble. If Smart can keep the price lower than the #1 - which starts around $38,000 in some markets - it might just have a winner on its hands. It needs to be affordable enough for the masses but fancy enough to justify that "premium" badge the company keeps shouting about.
At the end of the day, the world needs the Smart Concept #2. We need cars that don't feel like driving a cathedral through a needle's eye. Weird, quirky, and likely a bit too expensive for what it is, but it has soul. We live in a world of grey electric SUVs, so I'll take a gold-and-white motorized egg any day of the week. Let's just hope the production version keeps the fat arches.
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