Much like the trio of mini cars from Toyota and PSA Peugeot Citroen that share the same body, architecture, mechanical hardware and manufacturing location differing mainly in styling, their upcoming rivals from Renault and Daimler’s Smart division, the new Twingo and ForFour, were born from the same mold and will be assembled at the French carmaker’s Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia.
Parent company Mercedes has freely admitted that the two cars will share up to 70 percent of their components, but Smart boss Annette Winkler has said that the ForFour will not bear any resemblance to the Twingo, with its styling previewed by the FourJoy Concept.
That may or may not hold true in regards to the new ForFour’s front and rear ends, but these spy photos strongly suggest that the main body and silhouette will be very similar. Smart has said that the ForFour will keep the brand’s trademark rear pillar design, while the tester also features regular rear door handles instead of the Twingo’s hidden units.
We also get a quick look at the ForFour’s interior that sports a different steering wheel and what seems to be a digital instrument cluster.
Both the Twingo and ForFour will be offered with a 69hp (70PS) 1.0-liter 3-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol and an 89hp (90 PS).0.9-liter 3-cylinder turbo petrol, paired to a six-speed manual gearbox or an optional seven-speed dual-clutch auto. An electric version of the Smart will be presented at a later stage
The second (and very different) generation ForFour will celebrate its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in October, though, we will see the first pictures of the car during the summer.
By John Halas
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
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