Day by day, smart is becoming unrecognisable from its early years as purely a city car maker. Its recent electric SUVs have pushed the brand’s boundaries, but it will now break those barriers completely with a massive new sedan dubbed the #6.
The car recently cropped up in a filing with China’s ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT), as sighted by Autohome. And it’s big, measuring 4,906 mm long, 1,922 mm wide and 1,508 mm tall, putting it within 50 mm of the current Mercedes-Benz E-Class in terms of length and besting it in all other metrics (bar its 2,926 mm wheelbase).
Images show the distinctive face of the smart #1 and #3 – with a full-width light bar joining the slim headlights and a downturned centre air intake, here coming with a contrasting body-coloured surround – grafted onto a typical Chinese electric sedan body. There’s a long and sleek six-window glasshouse, flush pop-out door handles and plenty of gloss black lower cladding to disguise the car’s height.
The rear end is where the #6 trades its siblings’ cutesy look for an altogether sportier appearance. You still get a full-width taillight bar, but its rectangular shape and smoked internals give an almost muscle car-like air, and there’s even an active rear spoiler. An aggressive rear bumper design and a simple body-coloured rear valance complete the look.
In contrast to smart’s other models, the EHD badge at the back denotes a plug-in hybrid powertrain, utilising a similar system to the #5 EHD. The building blocks should be mostly identical, with the #6 confirmed to have a 1.5 litre BHE15-CFZ turbocharged four-cylinder engine with a record 47.26% thermal efficiency, producing 163 PS and 255 Nm of torque. This is related to the mill in the facelifted Proton X50.
The #5 EHD also features a three-speed dedicated hybrid transmission (3DHT Evo) integrating a 272 PS/380 Nm electric motor for a total system output of 425 PS and 635 Nm – all sent to the front wheels. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery sizes of 20 kWh and 41.46 kWh deliver a pure electric range of 120 km and 252 km respectively on China’s lenient CLTC cycle, leading to a combined range of 1,483 km with the smaller battery and 1,615 km with the larger one. Expect mild improvements on the #6 due to its slipperier shape.
Expect the #6 to be launched in China early next year, with global markets receiving the car in due course. The PHEV powertrain should go some way towards revitalising smart’s sales, which have slowed dramatically as EV demand continues to cool. And if you’re worried about its cars getting bigger, don’t worry – there’s also a fortwo-esque two-seater #2 coming in late 2026.
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1922mm wider than E200 and 5 series, all closed to 3m long wheelbase.
soon smart will rebadge proton
Electric Camaro or e-Bumblebee
What in the Dodge Charger EV is this????