11:45PM - 01.06.'15
|
News Source: topspeed.com
|
The fun and funky 2016 Smart Fortwo will be on sale in the U.S. this fall in Coupe form, and it doesn’t look like the Cabriolet is too far behind. After seeing the Fortwo Coupe, it didn’t take much imagination to envision what the Cabriolet model would look like, and our spy photographers have backed this up by capturing the new Smart Fortwo Cabriolet testing in Spain with no major camouflage. There’s no indication as to when the 2016 Smart Fortwo Cabriolet will be introduced, but judging by this testing session, the convertible city car is pretty close to being production-ready. Look for the 2016 Smart Fortwo Cabriolet to be unveiled later this year before going on sale in early 2016. Looking at this prototype, it appears that while the body and interior of the 2016 Smart Fortwo have changed drastically, the operation of the sliding cloth tops remains generally the same as the 2015 Cabriolet. Although these spy shots don’t show the car with its top opened, the current Fortwo Cabriolet has a power-operated cloth top that can slide back to any number of positions providing anywhere from a sunroof-sized opening to a full open-top experience. Of course, the side rails of the roof remain in place, helping the Cabriolet attain its surprising level of safety. The interior of the 2016 Smart Fortwo Cabriolet will be identical to the Coupe with the exception of the added dose of sunshine. Despite its diminutive size, the Fortwo’s unique design has always allowed it to offer plenty of space for two passengers inside. This trend will continue for 2016, but the bigger footprint gave Smart the chance to give this car a more enthusiastic interior with a better layout and improved technology. Buyers will probably appreciate the large, new color display screen for the infotainment and navigation systems, and the overall design is far more attractive and cohesive. Powering the 2016 Smart Fortwo Coupe (and almost certainly the Cabriolet, too) is a rear-mounted, 0.9-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder engine rated at 89 horsepower and 100 pound-feet of torque, allowing the car to hit a top speed of 96 mph. Customers will have the choice of a five-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. Final EPA fuel economy numbers have yet to be released for the 2016 Fortwo, but it should be better than the already-impressive 34 mpg city and 38 mpg ratings the current car has. Smart hasn’t even announced pricing for the already-confirmed 2016 Smart Fortwo Coupe, so there’s probably still a bit of time before the Cabriolet model is priced out. That being said, it probably shouldn’t increase too much over the 2015 Cabriolet’s $17,930 base MSRP. The current Cabriolet is only offered in a single trim level, the Coupe’s higher Passion trim, and the same could be the case for the 2016 model year. While the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet is hardly the convertible that enthusiasts will flock to, it does provide some of the highest fuel economy numbers of any non-hybrid and non-diesel car. |
