The diminutive-looking Smart ForTwo has just gotten cuter than ever! The automaker has just unveiled the ForTwo Cabrio which will make its world premiere at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in Sepetember.
As you would expect, the new Smart cabrio is transformed from a closed two-seater into a car with a large sliding canvas sunroof, or a full-fledged cabriolet with the soft top completely open. This enables the fresh air driving experience to be adapted to the weather or the driver’s mood, although it’s probably not suitable to be driven with the top down in our warm local temperature.
Prospective customers can choose between 3 different colours for the “tritop” fabric soft top: blue denim (jeans look), red or black. The headlining is always grey. The removable roof bars that can be stowed in a compartment in the tailgate come in the tridion colour. Apart from that, the fabric soft top can be opened fully automatically in 12 seconds – even when driving at top speed. With the 3-button key the soft top can also be opened from outside the car by remote control.
Removing the side roof bars enables a full-blown cabrio experience. The roof bars can be stowed on the inside of the tailgate. This stowage compartment in the tailgate also offers additional stowage space for small items.
With an area of 19.4sq-ft the “tritop” fabric soft top is approximately 4% larger than its predecessor. The outer covering is made of a particularly lightfast polyacrylic fabric and the inside features a polyester/cotton mix. There is a rubber layer in the middle. The soft top has a total thickness of 0.8 inches. The rear windscreen is heated and is made of glass.
When stepped into the cabin, buyer will find a plethora of standard tech equipment including a smart radio with Bluetooth technology, automatic climate control, power windows, power steering, cruise control, a multifunction steering wheel, alarm system, and LED Daytime Running Lamps integrated into the headlights.
Smart says the new ForTwo cabrio is the most rigid Smart cabrio ever. The torsional strength has been improved by around 15% compared with the predecessor. The material mix comprises a high proportion of ultra-high strength hot-formed steels and maximum-strength multiphase steels.
In addition, the cabrio has been specifically reinforced in decisive places in comparison to the coupe. The modifications include a large steel cross under the vehicle, two torsional bulkheads under the vehicle at the front and rear and an inner tube in the A-pillars made of high strength hot-formed steel.
As well as meeting the requirements of mandatory crash tests, the new smart ForTwo cabrio also passes additional Mercedes-Benz crash tests that often have much stricter requirements. This includes the “roof-drop” test. Here the body falls at a slight angle from a height of 50cm onto the roof structure and the vehicle hits one of the two A-pillars.
Advanced assistance systems which were previously the reserve of higher classes of vehicle help to prevent accidents. These include, ESP with Crosswind Assist and hill start assist (standard) and forward collision warning (optional).
Under the hood, power is supplied by a 3-cylinder engine rated at 89 hp. This engine can be combined with the 5-speed manual transmission or the fully automatic twinamic dual clutch transmission. Needless to say, the smart fortwo cabrio has the agility typical of the brand – with the 22.8ft (from curb to curb) and 24ft (from wall to wall) turning circle, turning maneuvers are extremely simple.
