► New Smart Fortwo Cabriolet spied
► Unfortunate off-road scenery interface
► Extra detail on new 2015 Smart soft-top
Here’s an unusual scoop, and a slightly unhappy one to boot: our paparazzo stumbled upon the new 2015 Smart Fortwo Cabriolet after an unfortunate excursion off road.
There’s no hint of schadenfreude about this spot – accidents can happen to us all – but it does afford a useful look at the new Smart soft-top with barely any disguise.
Smart Fortwo Cabriolet: the facts
The new topless city car is due to be launched in summer 2015 and the near absence of disguise on these prototypes suggests the world debut can’t be far away.
Smart is sticking with its fold-back canvas roof, available in contrasting colours to the bodywork, which peels back to offer al fresco thrills in Daimler’s diminutive roadster.
Expect the engine and spec details to mirror closely those of the hatchback (tested here). That means a tiny 0.9-litre three-cylinder engine, available in naturally aspirated or turbocharged forms.
And – glory be! – Smart owners are no longer forced to have nodding-dog, catapulting automated manual transmissions; twin-clutch autos are now offered or buyers can pick a manual gearbox.
We bet that Tridion safety cell comes in handy if you do take an unintended excursion into the scenery. If there’s one silver lining to this cloud, it’s that the crashed Fortwo Cabriolet looks very much in one piece, with no windscreen damage or passenger cell intrusion. It’s normal for airbags to be unwired in prototypes, which may explain why the SRS system didn’t deploy.