by Thanos Pappas
- Report suggested Smart #4 four-door model could soon join the upcoming #2.
- The #4 was expected to revive ForFour’s spirit with a practical four-seat layout.
- Smart told CarScoops that a ForFour successor is not currently under development.
Update: Smart reached out to us and clarified that it has no plans for a direct successor to the original ForFour, and we’ve revised this story to reflect that.
Smart recently confirmed that a next-generation ForTwo is in the works and scheduled to arrive in late 2026 wearing the #2 badge. What caught many off guard, though, was a report about a more versatile four-door, the #4, essentially bringing back the spirit of the discontinued ForFour. Shortly after the story surfaced, though, Smart set the record straight.
Smart’s Global PR Director Jack Bailey told CarScoops: “I’m afraid the information in the Autocar report was incorrect. While we appreciate the interest in smart and our products, there are currently no plans to develop a forfour successor or a #4.” He added that “the positive feedback and enthusiasm from our fans and the public has been hugely encouraging. We are excited to share more details about the #2 soon.”
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The original claim came from Autocar, following a conversation with Smart Europe CEO Dirk Adelmann during the Munich Motor Show. Adelmann was reported as hinting at a new model that “needs to look like a successor” to the last ForFour.
That car ended production in 2021 and was essentially a stretched ForTwo with an added pair of doors, sharing its platform with the Renault Twingo. It was itself a successor to the first-generation ForFour sold from 2004 to 2006, which had a front-engine setup and was based on the Mitsubishi Colt.
European Engineering Roots
Unlike the members of the current Smart lineup that were engineered by Geely in China, the #2 rides in a new platform developed in collaboration with Mercedes in Europe. Adelmann said that this is “very important because this team makes sure that we have a European product that is ready for European customers”.
The European chief reportedly noted that the company decided to expand the lineup with an additional model as they “need the economies of scale”. Smart has been trying to make a new ForTwo since 2019 but it appears they weren’t able to find a partner for joint development.
“We always were trying to make it feasible, but it took us three years longer than expected… Better late than never,” Adelmann explained. He added that the biggest challenge was making the platform small enough for the #2, since it’s “much easier to expand slightly” for a potential #4.
Expanding the Range
The Smart #2 will hold a distinctive spot as the only two-seat EV in Europe’s A-segment. If a #4 had materialized, it would have entered a much more crowded field, facing rivals such as the upcoming Renault Twingo and the production version of Volkswagen’s ID. Every1 concept.
The #2 will expand Smart’s range that currently includes the #1, #3 and #5 models. The naming scheme doesn’t strictly follow size, but even numbers are reserved for regular cars and odd numbers for SUVs. There are also reports about a possible Smart #6 sedan that would be consistent with this naming scheme.
More: This Smart SUV Is Quicker Than A BMW M3 And Nothing Like The Awful ForTwo
In the meantime, Smart is preparing updates for the #1 and #3 crossovers. Both will receive notable hardware changes in 2026 as part of a model-year update, followed by a more substantial facelift in 2027. The #1 launched in 2022 as the first product of Smart’s new era, with the coupe-like #3 arriving in 2023. The boxier #5, introduced in 2024, remains the largest model in the brand’s lineup.
