Smart Forease+ concept covers up its top for Geneva
It's an extension of a previously released concept car.
At last year's Paris Motor Show , Smart unveiled the Forease, a chopped-top concept that limited its usability to sunny climes. Now, Smart has built upon the Forease to create the Forease+, and yes, it has a roof.
Smart on Friday unveiled the Forease+ concept ahead of its formal debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Adding that taut fabric roof to the concept gives it more of a fastback look than the Forease concept, and as Smart itself notes, it adds some all-weather versatility. The roof is made of a hard shell covered in fabric, and it's removable.
Otherwise, it's largely the same design we saw in Paris. It sports some aggressive bumpers and the same three-element LED lights that we loved in the initial concept. There's a set of crazy taillights out back, hanging out above a serious diffuser.
Inside, the Forease+ concept still has the same chopped steering wheel as the Forease concept, looking closer to a plane's yoke than a steering wheel. But, while the Forease lacked vents given its open-air nature, Smart added a couple HVAC vents to the Forease+ to make sure it can handle more weather than pure sunshine. The dashboard is wrapped in Nappa leather, as are the seats, and the door sills are covered in microfiber.
As was the case with the Forease, the Forease+ is entirely electric. This mirrors Smart's production-car shift, which will see the entire brand going battery-electric by 2020. Since it's just a concept, I wouldn't exactly expect many (or any) of these styling cues to pop up in the future, but life is full of surprises, and a crazier Smart could very well help it stand apart as it tries to appeal to a new generation of urbanites.
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