Smart ForFour spied first time with production body
1 - 20 of 24 Posts
Joined
·
29,110 Posts
Joined
·
1,984 Posts
I'll pass, I don't look good in zebra print 
Joined
·
17,507 Posts
While I'm certain the fortwo will have a Tridion Cell, I'm getting a tad concerned about the forfour. It looks like a rebodied Twingo...
The Tridion Cell should be thicker than the door sill line suggests it is.
![]()
Don't tell me smart's made the bloody awful decision to remove the Tridion Cell from the forfour.
At least the fortwo's design still suggests that there's a visible Cell there.
The Tridion Cell should be thicker than the door sill line suggests it is.
Don't tell me smart's made the bloody awful decision to remove the Tridion Cell from the forfour.
At least the fortwo's design still suggests that there's a visible Cell there.
The "tridion" is simply the unibody "door ring" around the perimeter of the doors and including the rear fenders ... Cosmetically, I suspect the extent of it is going to be that the doors may be painted a contrasting colour from the unibody. That photo suggests exactly that ... the door ring is copper and the doors are silver ...
P.S. I hope they do that copper colour.
Joined
·
17,507 Posts
Ditto with that. Doors are silver, yet the "Tridion Cell" is Copper. Nice colour combo.
Looks like the forfour's panels will also be metal as well...so much for quick, cheap, and easy colour changes...
Look at the video, Tridion Cell is definitely confirmed on the fortwo...as well as reflector headlamps.
Joined
·
5,944 Posts
not a bad thing -- you won't be pinned to a hand full of wheel options anymore!:wink:
Joined
·
185 Posts
These of course are not "spy" photos; they're photos and videos that are deliberately revealed to gradually familiarize the public with the W453.
It sure looks to me like the door skins are metal on the forfour. It looks like the outer skin is hemmed around the inner structural panel at the edges, i.e. completely conventional construction.
The forfour and Twingo are being built in a different plant from the fortwo, and obviously the unibody is different, so just because the forfour has steel doors doesn't necessarily mean that the fortwo will.
Joined
·
17,507 Posts
The forfour had a metal Tridion Cell, but it had plastic panels just like the fortwo. It was mechanically, a Mitsubishi Colt, but otherwise, it was a smart.The original forfour had metal panels and was built in a Mitsubishi plant in Europe - so no big deal for the 453 version. The 453 fortwo will continue with plastic body panels.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/first-drives/smart-forfour-1.3-passion
Looking at the multiple spy photos and videos (and now this latest video), I'm 100% certain the fortwo will retain the plastic body panels and the distinctive Tridion Cell as we know it to be.
On the other hand, looks like the forfour is going for a more conventional body. The safety structure might be more conventional with the visible "Tridion Cell" being just a styling element. That's kinda sad...but I guess I could see the reasoning behind it.
Based on the early reveal of a more conventionally built Twingo-forfour think I agree with the folks at M-B smart, the U.S. doesn't need yet another bland :yawn: four door.
Here's hoping that they haven't watered down our beloved fortwo . . . :cheers:
Here's hoping that they haven't watered down our beloved fortwo . . . :cheers:
Joined
·
3,398 Posts
As I recall, that's exactly what they did with the original ForFour (Rebadged Mitsu Colt)?
Metal panels w/ Tridion styling only (not a true Tridion shell).
Metal panels w/ Tridion styling only (not a true Tridion shell).
Joined
·
17,507 Posts
The original forfour intrigued me. Some time ago (a few years, at the least) I learned that the forfour and the donor Colt were only mechanically similar. They shared practically 100% of the mechanicals and the chassis, but otherwise were different cars.
The original forfour actually did have plastic panels!
It even had a full panoramic roof. The front half was the same craze-tastic Makrolon we have in the 451s and the rear half was glass. And somehow, the Tridion Cell element wasn't just styling, it actually improved the forfour's safety rating over the donor Colt. All the while being shorter than the Colt too.
The forfour was actually the better version of the car that birthed it!
Unrelated: There are two smart formore SUVs in existence (the other 20+ were crushed) and strangely enough, they too have plastic panels.
1 - 20 of 24 Posts
Join the discussion
Join now to ask and comment!