In designing them, smart tapped industrial designer Konstantin Grcic “to create a contemporary work of art for the road while at the same time marking the beginning of a new era in the history of the automobile.”
Tuning company Brabus will too have a hand in the development of the cars, although for now the carmaker did not say what the high-performance touches will be.
The last internal combustion smart cars part of this series will roll off the assembly lines in August. Each will be painted in a two-color scheme meant to be a tribute to the original vehicle that was presented in 1998: brilliant yellow on the front end and matt black at the rear, with a frazzled transition between the two colors.
The brand as a whole will not disappear in 2020, but it will morph into one for the future. The revision of powertrains is coupled with a tie-up with Chinese company Geely, which as of March 2019 jointly owns the brand together with Daimler.
Cars of the future lineup will be assembled at the same facility in Hambach, France, where the models will be assembled alongside a compact electric car wearing the EQ badge.
Daimler is currently in the process of investing 500 million euros for the creation of a new assembly line there, as well as the build of a new body shop and surface treatment facility.
