New-look smart teases muscly, grown-up EV

Mercedes-owned smart has shared sketches of the #3, a new electric coupé SUV. Confusingly, the #3 will in fact be the second model being launched as part of the brand’s new, more grown-up, portfolio.

It builds on the #1 shown formally earlier in 2022 and continues a theme devised by Mercedes’ chief design officer, Gorden Wagener: new smart cars will be grown-up, sporting “muscular” “elegant” and “sensual” designs.

With the greatest of respect, these are not words we might usually associate with smart, but as Wagener told us previously there are grand visions for the brand moving forward, with the potential of becoming – in his words – “a leading design brand.”

The sketches do not reveal a great deal and if images of the production-ready #1 are anything to go by, the more overt elements of design might be calmed down a bit when it comes to the road-ready #3. That aside, those pen sketches suggest a larger footprint than the #1 with a long wheelbase and short overhangs. The shark nose front end appears to follow the design language set out by the #1, with frankly mean-looking headlights and thin, modern taillights that span the width of the rear.

Swollen wheel arches are accompanied by contrast trim that wraps around the lower portion of the car – joining the diffusers and sills. This helps to reduce the visual proportions of the body, and combine with the low roofline to create a “sporty fastback” silhouette. Cooling vents on the front mask hint at its performance credentials, the carmaker says.

Oversized wheels shown in the sketches are unlikely to make the cut, but the trend for a larger radius seems to be a continued theme. While the spoke patterns are distinct, the design on the #3 does feel familiar when looking at the #1, and also seems to have drawn inspiration from earlier concepts like the Vision EQ from 2017 and Forease in 2019 – even though these were much smaller cars. Chunky wheels are highlighted in the release as adding “power” to the overall look.

It’s early days yet but the aim may be to create a kind of “family aesthetic” across the new portfolio, as many brands do today. We can certainly see similar design cues between the #1 and #3, particularly with the shark nose, wheels and light signature.

Smart describes the #3 in no uncertain terms: it is an “emotionally iconic car that I defined by vibrant energy… [it is] an important milestone in the evolution of smart’s premiumness core value.” All this is indeed an exciting move for smart which, rightly or wrongly, is distancing itself from the cutesy vibe for more of a mature look (although that lower case ‘s’ in the brand name still bugs us…).

The car will be officially unveiled at the Shanghai auto show this month, with details on its European market launch coming at a later stage. It will enter a hotly contested market in the burgenoning electric ’SUV coupé’ segment – for more on that trend, click here.

Indeed, the move to EV presents an opportunity for a brand reset, and at a time where crossovers and mixed-breed SUVs rule the roost it is hardly surprising to see smart go in this direction, offering perhaps more universally practical (and appealing) models. We can only hope that the brand continues to stand out from the crowd, and that the playful spirit of the original model is not lost as it grows up.