smart Shows Fuel Efficient Hybrid and Electric Models

The second generation smart fortwo is just about ready to go on sale as a2008 model year product for the first time in the United States. After attempting to expand the brand with the whimsical Roadster and the subcompact-sized forfour, smart cleared its product portfolio and has returned to being a single-vehicle brand. To show how serious smart is about making its mark with the second generation car, the brand’s engineers have already put together three energy efficient models that show the potential of the fortwo of the future.

To most people unfamiliar with the smart brand, the fortwo’s curious styling and diminutive size might be mistaken for some sort of futuristic electric car. Smart has taken this to heart, and has built its first new-generation zero-emissions electric vehicle concept called electric drive (ed for short). Instead of the regular internal combustion engine, a 30 kW electric motor fills the rear-mounted engine bay, which is brought to life by a sodium nickel-chloride battery developed by Zebra that is housed in the car’s underside. For a teensy city car like the fortwo, a range of 71.5 miles per charge is more than acceptable,and smart says that the car takes about 5.7 seconds to hit 37 mph from a standstill. Given that the price of electricity is much less than the equivalent for gasoline, the fortwo electric vehicle would be as cheap as dirt to run with an estimated price of about $0.043 per mile.

Since a full electric vehicle isn’t practical for all smart buyers, the brand also showed off a hybrid version of the car dubbed hybrid drive (hd for short). The fortwo hybrid drive concept features a drivetrain powered by either a gasoline or a diesel engine that is assisted by a 20 kW electric motor which can operate in tandem with the engine or by itself. Unlike the forthcoming Mercedes-Benz S-Class Hybrid, this smart is a true, full hybrid. If the hybrid system is paired to the European-market 0.8-liter CDI diesel engine, the average fuel consumption is an astonishing 81 mpg, and it emits just 124 g/mi of CO2!

However, out of the three cars smart displayed, one is actually going to make it to production: the fortwo micro hybrid drive (mhd). Don’t let the name confuse you; it’s not a real hybrid, but just a regular gasoline-powered fortwo with an idle-stop system, like the ones featured on the new BMW 1-Series, Mini and various Citroens. The 1.0-liter inline-three gasoline engine that the concept is powered by has been modified with a high-powered belt-driven starter generator that, like a hybrid, can instantaneously start and stop the car’s engine on demand to prevent wasting fuel. Smart has already tested the car out, and has recorded an average fuel consumption figure of 55 mpg.

Production of the fortwo mhd is slated to start in the fall, but it is unknown whether this model will be available in North America.