The Concept #1 premiered at the 2021 IAA Mobility Show in Munich and we got a glimpse of what Smart’s electric future will look like.
Credit: Smart The Concept #1 is an electric SUV crossover, which means that we can expect considerably larger future vehicles than the tiny ForTwo and ForFour.Credit: Smart At 4.29m long, 1.91m wide, and 1.70m tall, it’s roughly the same size as the Mini Countryman, the brand’s largest vehicle so far. It’s also not much smaller than Mercedes’ EQA electric crossover— after all, Mercedes is the Concept #1’s designer.Credit: Smart The EV features rear scissor doors that allow for an easy entry and give “an unobstructed view of the generously dimensioned interior” when they are open. Given that this is unpractical in real life, it’s doubtful whether it’ll be maintained in the production model.Credit: SmartOne of the central design features is the large panoramic roof. Smart claims that it appears to float above thanks to a smooth transition between the windscreen and window surfaces.Credit: SmartDespite its compact size, it looks like it offers sufficient legroom, elbow room, and storage space on account of its wheels being positioned at the far out corners of the vehicle. While the concept model is a four-seater, the future production car will have a third seat at the rear.Credit: SmartAlthough its interior design is rather minimalistic, it does aim for a luxurious effect and for this reason is gold-tinted (which I find a bit distasteful) and tech-adorned.Smart is aiming for the maximum digitalization and especially boasts the concept car’s control interface. It’s a 12.8-inch (Tesla Model 3-like) touchscreen, which features a 3D globe as the central menu item and an AI avatar that helps the user navigate through functions. Apart from the screen though, the dashboard looks rather poor…
If you’re wondering about it, Smart does plan to turn the Concept #1 into a production vehicle with multiple versions including a long-range model. Production will start in China, where the electric crossover is expected to hit the market next year, while a European launch is lined up as well.
