Smart forspeed electric concept car redefines bonkers

It looks as if Smart's designers have been at the crazy pills again. Whoever penned the company's forspeed electric car concept appears to have forgotten a couple of vital things. There's no roof, for a start -- and barely any windows.

Instead, Smart's treated all the forspeed's interior equipment to a waterproof coating and installed drainage channels in the seat surfaces and floor to ensure rainwater is channelled outside. Thoughtfully, it's also thrown in a tonneau cover that stretches over the gap where the roof should be, just in case the weather gets all British.

The forspeed is powered by a 30kW (40bhp) magneto-electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack that delivers 16.5kWh of electrical punch. Together, they help the car go from a standstill to 37mph (0-60kmh) in 5.5 seconds. It's not going to worry a Tesla Roadster, but it does have a boost button that provides an extra 5kW (6.7bhp) of power for "a short time" while you overtake pesky milkfloats.

Top speed, meanwhile, is rated at 75mph, so -- if you don't mind getting bugs in your afro -- it could potentially be used for a quick jaunt on the motorway.

Don't be surprised if you don't actually reach your destination or you get lost (or bored senseless) on the way, however. The forspeed has a limited driving range of just 84 miles, and its sat-nav and stereo system -- an iPhone jammed into a dock on the dash -- is located in an instrument cluster on the passenger side where the driver can't see or reach it.

If you do have a co-pilot handy, they'll be able to fiddle with the smart drive app, which allows hands-free calling, navigation and has a Car Finder feature that guides the driver back to their parked car.

It's bonkers, we're sure you'll agree, but we reckon it's a big improvement on the Smart ED we tested a couple of yonks ago. Have a gander through the photos above then let us know what you think in the comments below.