The Smart Forvision Concept which debuted at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, showed its pretty face to the Indian masses at the Indo-German Urban Mela currently being held in New Delhi.
The Smart Forvision Concept is jointly developed by BASF and Daimler AG. The idea is to develop a small and sustainable green car for the urban environment that is fuel efficient and has a light weight design.
Daimler brought in its automotive expertise and BASF, a chemical industry czar, brought in its expertise in developing environmentally sustainable materials from which the car can be built.
The Smart Forvision share its basic stance and profile with the Smart Fortwo but that’s where the similarities end. The Forvision Concept features class leading technologies such as -
- Hexagonal patterns across the roof that contain solar cells to generate energy to power the multimedia and climate systems.
- The paint of the Forvision reflects light, rather than absorbing it to make sure that the car does not get hot when parked in sunny places.
- Wheels made from recycled plastic that is strong enough for the rigors of daily road use. Each rim saves 3kg over a conventional alloy.
- Forvision's body panels are made from carbonfibre-reinforced epoxy resin which is 50% lighter than steel, and a third lighter than aluminium.
- The Forvision features infrared-reflective glass to keep the interior from heating up when left in the sun.
- Forvision has LED head- and tail-lights, and the interior is lit with organic LEDs (OLEDs) embedded in the transparent roof.
- ‘E-textile’ fabric in the upholstery helps keep the body cool when the going gets hot. It also has superabsorbent properties for those extra-hot days. The concept’s interior is thermally insulated with foam.
- It is powered by a 30 kW magneto-electric motor that uses a 16.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack as a source of energy. The car has an approximate range 155 km on a single charge.
Both companies are working developing mass production methods for these new technologies.
Smart however has no ideas of exploring India. Our sources in Mercedes Benz say the status of the Smart is not even in the study stage and all efforts are directed towards launching compact cars from the MFA Platform in 20-30 lakh rupee range to reclaim market leadership in India.
