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Jonathan McGrew has had a steering wheel in his hands since before he could walk. It was inevitable that he would start racing, earning recognition... More

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1 1,782 views November 22, 2009

Smart ForTwo ED

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Last week our partners over at AllCarsElectric.com reported on a story that should perk the interests of the small car enthusiast. The successful Smart ForTwo might be becoming an even smarter choice for urban commuters with the addition of an all-electric drivetrain. Yes, that’s right, you might be able to run to work in back without ever using a drop of petrol, especially if you live in an urban city like New York or London.

The first version of the all-electric platform was given to 100 urban commuters in London back in 2007. The goal of this experiment, if you will, was to see how the electric version would fair in real world conditions (similar to the MINI-E that we reported on earlier this year). Now, in 2009, production is ramping up in the Smart Hamburg, France facility to produce 1,000 Smart ForTwo EVs for testing around Europe and the U.S.

Smart Fortwo EV

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The new EV version is based on the second-generation platform and is expected to help hone in on any issues that my pose a problem for the final production models. That leads us into the next logical question: When are they supposed to hit the market? Current speculation says that the final production model of the Smart ForTwo EV is supposed to roll out to market in 2012 (that is if the world doesn’t end first).

So if you are in the market for a cute little electric in a couple years and don’t buy into the disaster and devastation as predicted by the Mayans, than keep tabs on the newest wave of commuter traveling from Smart.