Inspired by the Jeep Wrangler or Mini Moke? |
| smart's designers were asked to conceptualize what the successor of the firm's original fortwo city car might look like. (Photo smart Canada) |
In the days leading up to the IAA, the air in Frankfurt (and the automotive community) was electric, as usual. It was crunch time for manufacturers, as they were on a mad race to put the finishing touches on secretive vehicles that were to be released at the very last second.
One such vehicle that typifies short-lead development is smart's crosstown (lower case intentional), a new concept car that takes urban automotive fashion trends down to a diminutive level for a totally unique kind of inner-city transportation.
Life for this particular concept started out in a creative workshop where smart's designers were asked to conceptualize what the successor of the firm's original fortwo city car might look like. Working up from ideas to blueprints, and then quarter scale clay models before crafting a fully operational example, the crosstown gained many new and unique features. It was decided by officials that smart would use this fortwo 'experiment' as a show car, and work began on the full-size version earlier this year.
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| By comparison, it's only slightly larger than the fortwo, which is 2.50 m (98.4 inches) long. (Photo: smart Canada) |
The crosstown, like most other smarts is a tiny vehicle, working to further the reputation of the company as a leader in micro cars. At 2.68 meters (105.5 inches) in length, with a 1.90 meter (74.8 inch) long wheelbase and equal width and height of 1.58 meters (62.2 inches), the crosstown is perfect for traffic-logged city centres. By comparison, it's only slightly larger than the fortwo, which is 2.50 m (98.4 inches) long, with a wheelbase of 1.81 m (71.3 inches), a width of 1.51 (59.4 inches) and a height of 1.55 m (61.0 inches). Miniscule overhangs of 40 cm (15.7 inches) up front and 39 cm (15.4 inches) in back would make the crosstown an easy vehicle to park.
