Rumormill: From fortwo to forfour; now a smart forthree roadster?

smart used to have a model called the Roadster (and the Roadster coupé), which wasn't too much of a commercial success. The model wasn't ugly and had decent enough performance with its small 3-cyl engine thanks to its low weight. Still, smart only sold a little more than 43,000 units in the two years (2003-2005) that it was available.
What does this have to do with today's green car news? Well, according to British car magazine Autocar, smart has filed patents for a new roadster model, which would be called the forthree, fitting nicely between the fortwo and the future forfour. Yes, the name forthree means that this car would seat three people but, unlike the Toyota IQ, this new model would seat the driver at the middle front position and two passengers behind and to the sides. This reconfigures the marque's signature structure into something resembling a wishbone. Autocar says the model would hit the showrooms in 2014 together with the next generation of 3-cyl engines, both diesel and gasoline, in the smart cars.

[Source: Autocar]

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