The best cars from the Paris Motor Show 2012 you'll soon be able to drive
Smart ForStars concept at Paris 2012
It's an electric Smart coupe concept and it's smiling at you
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Smart ForStars Concept at the 2012 Paris Motor Show
Smart has chosen Paris as the stage to unveil its cartoonish concept - the ForStars. It's a two-seater electric car which owes much of its design to the ForUS study revealed at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this year. That car gave a token nod to pick-up culture in the States, whilst the ForStars gets a more chic, European coupe body.
What is it?
The ForStars' design hints at what the next generation Smart ForTwo might look like, and the presence of a nose means it could be front-engined - a break from tradition for Smart. The ForStars is also a zero-emissions concept which gets a slightly zippier version of the ForTwo BRABUS electric drive's 60kW motor.
What's hot?
This Smart rolls on '21s. Yes, it's fairly well-endowed in the wheel department which does lend it a taut, wheel-at-each-corner stance. That white leather and "alubeam" red interior is pretty striking, too. Oh, and there's a video projector mounted in the bonnet scoop which can be controlled via smartphone to turn the ForStars into a mobile cinema. Yes, you've seen it all now.
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What's not?
Smart has designed the ForStars so it greets the viewer with a 'friendly yet assertive face'. There's a school of thought that says there's a place for cars with faces - and that place is children's books or animated films. We'll let you judge for yourself and decide whether you subscribe to said school.
How much and when?
As a concept car, the ForStars is a vision of what might be - so we could see elements of the concept study's design on the next ForTwo. But any speculation on pricing or release date would be just that at this stage.
Anything else I should know?
Yes - the next ForTwo will share its underpinnings with the next Renault Twingo - so this concept, which is 3,550mm long, 1,710mm wide and 1,505mm high, could provide some clues as to the little Renault's proportions.
And if you're curious about the ForStars name, it's a 'tongue-in-cheek' reference to the fact the Smart has a glass roof so you can see the stars at night. Of course, we didn't need to explain that.
On Bing: see pictures of the Smart ForTwo Brabus electric drive
Find out how much a used Smart ForTwo costs on Auto Trader
Review: Smart ForTwo Cabrio Brabus Tailor Made OMG (2011 onwards)
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