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IAA Mobility 2023: Smart reinvents itself

Premiere of the Smart#3 in Europe. With the SUV coupe, Smart celebrates its 25th anniversary, moving further away from the mobility concept of the Smart founders and focusing on premium SUVs.

The roofline turns the Smart into an elegant SUV coupe.| Photo: Smart
The roofline turns the Smart into an elegant SUV coupe.| Photo: Smart
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Thomas Kanzler

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the pioneer in urban mobility looks back on a dynamic career in the automotive industry. A quarter of a century ago, the Mercedes subsidiary started with a complete rethinking of urban mobility solutions in the form of practical city cars, and now Smart is focusing on compact, fully electric premium SUVs.

“The core of the Smart brand has always been to surprise with unconventional concepts that provide answers to the challenges of urban mobility,” says Dirk Adelmann, CEO of Smart Europe. “With our new vehicle generation, we continue the Smart spirit from the past 25 years and elevate it to a new level. Today, the brand stands for purely electric and comprehensive connectivity solutions that meet the urban lifestyle of tomorrow.”

Sporty and Extravagant

The exterior of the Smart#3 is characterized by an athletic design language, visibly influenced by Mercedes designers. The distinctive "Shark Nose" and the sleek LED headlights with the wide grille at the front give the compact coupe-SUV a striking appearance. The minimalist design of the interior is high-quality, and a highlight is the panoramic roof, which contributes to the spacious feel inside the Smart#3. The roofline tapering towards the rear makes the Smart#3 appear more dynamic than the Smart#1 and, with some aerodynamic fine-tuning, achieves a drag coefficient of 0.27.

“Smart has always distinguished itself through its unconventional approach. With the #3, we are now offering a fully electric compact SUV that meets both urban and rural driving needs,” explains Adelmann.

Sporty Performance, Solid Charging Capabilities

The sporty appearance of the SUV coupe is also reflected in its performance: The peak output ranges from 315 kW/ 428 hp for the Brabus to 200 kW/ 272 hp for the other model variants. The Brabus version accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.7 seconds, while the Pro+ version completes the sprint to 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds. Smart specifies the range of the SUV coupe at 415 to 455 kilometers.

The Smart#3 can be charged from 10 percent to 80 percent in 30 minutes with a charging power of up to 150 kW at a fast charger. In addition, the new model features various driver assistance systems, including a highway assistant and an automatic parking assistant.

For its 25th anniversary, a limited 25th Anniversary Edition with exclusive design details will be offered. By the end of this year, the Smart#3 will already be available in Germany, promises Adelmann.

What does this mean?

Small, sustainable, and economical, conserving resources and preferably with electric drive—that was the idea of the Smart inventors. Much of this is no longer evident in the current portfolio of the Chinese-Swabian alliance. Smart is also relying on skillfully made SUVs.

Translated automatically from German.
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