Smart is reportedly working on mid-size saloon #6

That Smart has presented its largest model to date with the SUV model #5 is well known. Now, the former small car brand is also said to be developing a mid-size saloon - in the style of the Tesla Model 3.

At least that’s what the British portal Autocar reports, but it does not name any further sources. In recent months, Autocar has published several articles about Smart with alleged new models, some of which were denied by Smart shortly afterwards. These included statements by Smart Europe boss Dirk Adelmann about a small electric roadster and, most recently, possible hybrid offshoots of the Smart #5. The report about the #6 should thus also be treated with caution.

According to the article, it will be a ‘rakish four-door saloon’ with a similar footprint to a Tesla Model 3. That would be around 4.70 metres long and 2.10 metres wide (with wing mirrors). The Smart saloon will focus on range, which is why the body will be particularly slim. The most efficient version is said to have a range of over 800 kilometres in the Chinese CLTC test cycle, while the WLTP range should be close to the 700 kilometres of the longest-range Model 3. There is talk of 470 kW for the most powerful version.

That data is plausible if another piece of information from Autocar is correct. The portal says that the technology will come from the Zeekr 007, which is based on a platform called PMA2+. The Zeekr 007 will have two battery versions: a 75 kWh LFP battery for up to 688 kilometres of CLTC range and a 100 kWh storage unit with NMC cells for a range of 870 kilometres. Thanks to 800-volt technology, the charging power is said to be up to 400 kW, while the drive is available in either a 310 kW rear-wheel drive or a 475 kW all-wheel drive version.

The PMA2+ is already known at Smart, with the electric SUV #5 also utilising this platform. According to the usual speculation in the automotive industry – and based on the fact that Zeekr also offers an SUV called 7X in addition to the 007 saloon – rumours of a corresponding Smart saloon are obvious. But whether they are really true remains to be seen: There is no comment from Smart in the Autocar article.

For the sake of completeness, however, it should be mentioned that the first rumours about a #6 as an electric saloon were already circulating in early 2024. At that time, the Spanish portal motor.es mentioned the Polestar 2 as a possible reference. Although this also comes from the Geely empire, it is based on the old CMA platform.

autocar.co.uk