Smart SUV's Production Design Leaked In Patent Filings

Smart cars were officially available in the USA from 2008 to 2019. Daimler finally pulled the plug due to poor sales, but only after stringing out the supermini's lifespan as an electric. Even then, thefortwo Electric Driveoffered poor range, but that was the least of its troubles.

In a country where the Ford F-150 is the best-selling car, driving around in a tiny two-seater EV styled to look like a Pokemon was, somewhat ironically, not smart. Driving a Smart Fortwo in Texas gives you some idea of what it would be like to partake in a gang war with nothing more than positive reinforcement messages printed on postcards.

The smallness is a big problem, but it can be fixed. Mini used to make small cars, but to remain competitive in the US market, it had to produce the Countryman. It seems the memo about crossovers finally reached Smart's offices - which we imagine are located in Daimler's basement, right next to the vending machine full of questionable items - and the production SUV's design has now been leaked.

As revealed by theMBEQ Clubforum, Smart recently filed production designs for its upcoming SUV a the European Union Intellectual Property Office. As you can see, the patent images are staggeringly similar to theSmart Concept #1that we recently laid eyes on at the Munich Auto Show. It's quite a radical design, but it seems like the production car will be closely related to the concept. Sadly, the cool suicide doors are gone. It's not just reminiscent on the outside but on the inside as well.

The interior has been toned down, but the concept was quite radical. We don't doubt it will follow the current Mercedes trend of a large touchscreen interface with air vents below it. The patent images confirm this. More than anything, we hope the superb LED headlights and taillights make it to production.