Exactly ten years ago there was a lot of speculation about the arrival of a new Smart ForFour. Initial rumors were that the Smart would be one of the first results of a new partnership between Daimler and Renault-Nissan. Ten years later, we can say that we were on the right track at the time.
After Smart introduced the two-door ForTwo at the end of the last century, Mercedes-Benz introduced the more spacious Forfour to its subsidiary in 2004. At the time, Smart came to Mitsubishi to develop the very first ForFour. That four-seater will eventually be placed on the same platform as the Mitsubishi Colt presented in 2003 and will receive the same MIVEC petrol engine under the hood. The ForFour also rolls from exactly the same production line. So, Dutch pride in Born: the Limburg NedCar factory. Smarts extra sturdy and well-known steel ‘safety cage’ from the ForTwo is also used in the ForFour. The 3.75-meter Smart is not long-lived, because production stops two years later.
It then remains remarkably quiet around the ForFour for a long time. A new generation of the ForTwo has since appeared, but no mention is made of a five-door variant. Until 2010 rumors loom up via the German media. Automobilwoche reports on April 6, 2010 that within a few days more would be announced about a partnership between Daimler and Renault-Nissan. In addition to a zipper of new engines for, for example, the A and B class and a Kangoo-like van for Mercedes-Benz (later the Citan so), French help would be given new life in the Smart ForFour. However, after a new Renault Twingo in 2012, it takes another two years before the new Smart ForFour is actually presented. For no less than seventy percent, the Twingo and ForFour are equal. The recipe is therefore clear: the fairly narrow and long carriage gets a short nose, because the engine is placed in the trunk. One of the biggest features: the extremely short turning circle. In contrast to the first ForTwo and Forfour, the cars do look alike about 15 years later. The coaches and interiors are identical to each other.
Unlike the Renault, the Smarts quickly get a fully electric drivetrain. Now the fossil fuel versions of the Smarts have even disappeared and the ForTwo and ForFour are only there as an electric EQ. Renault eventually follows this trend, because recently the French present the Twingo Z.E.
The current Smart is the only generation developed under Renault’s rule. Last year, Daimler entered into a new partnership with the Chinese company Geely. This joint venture will deal with the compact cars. The first results of this collaboration should be visible in two years’ time and new generations of the ForTwo and ForFour will be introduced. These will be born in a brand new Chinese factory.