It has been confirmed that the 2017 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive Coupe will cost $24,550 and the convertible variant will start at $28,750, excluding federal and state incentives. It's $1,200 lower than the current model.
Smart claims that the Smart Electric Drive Cabrio will be the "only electric drive convertible on the market" at the time of its summer launch. This specific version will have the same price from the previous generation. The automaker also claims that the new Fortwo Electric Drive model's batteries can reach a full charge in just three hours, half the time of the current generation that's using a 240-volt charger.
In addition, an 80 percent charge will come in around 2.5 hours, two hours shorter than the previous models. The range also has been increased from 68 miles to an estimated 70-80 miles. The new smart car is equipped with more powerful 7-kilowatt onboard chargers as well.
The new models also receive a few performance upgrades. For example, the vehicle's motor gains six hp to make a total of 80 hp, and torque output has been increased by 22 lb-ft of a total of 118 lb-ft of torque.
The acceleration of the coupe from 0 to 60 mph drops to 11.4 seconds from 11.5 seconds but increases to 11.7 seconds for the carbio variant. Top speed is estimated to be at 81 mph, an increase over the last version's 78 mph.
Meanwhile, the automaker has also revealed that the electric motor is sourced from Renault. The French automaker is apparently an alliance partner of Smart's parent company, Daimler, who is responsible for the manufacture of the smart cars sold overseas. Also, the battery is sourced from a different Daimler subsidiary, Deutsche Accumotive, which also provides batteries to Mercedes-Benz.
The 2017 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive models are already scheduled to arrive at U.S. dealerships in the summer. Smart already announced that it would stop offering gas-powered cars in the U.S. after the 2017 model year.
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