Mercedes-Benz developing three-seat Smart

This looks more like a design for a new go-kart, not a car!
Mercedes-Benz is improving its lineup of dedicated city cars by developing a three-seat Smart rumored to be named the “Forthree.” It is believed that Mercedes-Benz is fast-tracking the preparation in reaction to competition from Toyota’s iQ as well as urban-based offerings from Audi and BMW.

Said to borrow heavily from McLaren’s mould-breaking F1 supercar, the car is designed with the driver’s seat centrally up front with a pair of passenger seats set further back on either side of the cabin – an arrangement made possible by the retention of the rear-engined platform design used by the Smart Fortwo. The layout itself isn’t new. It was intended as a replacement for the coupe and roadster pairing axed from Smart’s line-up back in 2005, after a run of 43,091 cars.

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