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SMART has always been something of a puzzle. You’d think a Mercedes-made small-car brand would be a sure-fire hit, wouldn’t you? If you look at the success BMW has made of MINI – admittedly with a fair bit of provenance behind it – the fact that Smart has never really taken off has been quite a surprise. Remember, this is the car that was born out of a relationship in the mid-nineties with Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch. It was small, it was safe and it was funky – but it was pretty awful to drive. To be fair, there have been plenty of cars over the years that haven’t been that good from behind the wheel, and it never stopped them from selling in big numbers. So maybe this is yet another…

“If you’re not a fan of the large grille on the 4 Series, there’s good news: the 2 Series won’t feature it” BMW’S small-car line-up has moved almost exclusively to front-wheel drive in recent years, but fans of the brand can’t deny the successful results. Compact SUVs such as the X1 and X2 are sure-footed and economical, while the latest 1 Series offers more space and is still great to drive. However, there has always been one key outlier: the 2 Series Coupé. This small, rear-driven sports car with its six-cylinder engine options and raucous M2 edition has become a bit of a darling of the range, so purists should be thrilled to hear that BMW hasn’t gone cold on the idea of a less profitable, back-to-basics small sports car. Instead, it’s…

SMART has always been something of a puzzle. You’d think a Mercedes-made small-car brand would be a sure-fire hit, wouldn’t you? If you look at the success BMW has made of MINI – admittedly with a fair bit of provenance behind it – the fact that Smart has never really taken off has been quite a surprise. Remember, this is the car that was born out of a relationship in the mid-nineties with Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch. It was small, it was safe and it was funky – but it was pretty awful to drive. To be fair, there have been plenty of cars over the years that haven’t been that good from behind the wheel, and it never stopped them from selling in big numbers. So maybe this is…

AUDITT Price from: £33,795 AUDI’S style-focused TT has been on sale for seven years, but is arguably the new BMW’s closest rival. It offers two small rear seats and is available with a fairly conventional petrol-engined line-up, with the hotter TTS and five-cylinder TT RS sitting at the top of the range. The Audi is either front-wheel drive or quattro four-wheel drive, so it might not be quite as agile as the new 2 Series. TOYOTAGR SUPRA Price from: £46,010 TOYOTA will replace the compact rear-drive GT86 with the GR 86 in 2022, and it will come with 232bhp and a six-speed manual gearbox. In the meantime, the larger GR Supra is available. It shares its 2.0 and 3.0-litre engines with the 2 Series Coupé, but the GR Supra is pricier than the BMW, and…

“If you’re not a fan of the large grille on the 4 Series, there’s good news: the 2 Series won’t feature it” BMW’S small-car line-up has moved almost exclusively to front-wheel drive in recent years, but fans of the brand can’t deny the successful results. Compact SUVs such as the X1 and X2 are sure-footed and economical, while the latest 1 Series offers more space and is still great to drive. However, there has always been one key outlier: the 2 Series Coupé. This small, rear-driven sports car with its six-cylinder engine options and raucous M2 edition has become a bit of a darling of the range, so purists should be thrilled to hear that BMW hasn’t gone cold on the idea of a less profitable, back-to-basics small sports car.…

“The most obvious switch with the as-yet-unnamed model is that it grows in size compared with Smart’s current offerings”“We have taken the opportunity to reinvent the brand” Gorden Wagener, head of design • EXCLUSIVE SMART is one of the most daring car brands to have been launched in the past 50 years, but it has be considered a billioneuro failure. That could change with the switch from pure Daimler ownership to a joint venture with Chinese giant Geely – and now we’ve had an exclusive preview of the car that will kick-start the revival. The concept seen here – previewed by our exclusive image, based on an official design sketch – will make its debut at this autumn’s Munich Motor Show and go into production in a barely changed form by the end…