**Please note, the final car bodywork is being kept secret by Smart**



These recent pictures of Smart's mini-4X4 out testing add fresh controversy to reports that Smart has postponed development of its Formore off-roader. The Formore, which is to be built in Brazil, was going to be sold into the US at the rate of 30,000 per year. However, recent reports suggest that plans to launch the Smart brand in America have been shelved until the brand becomes more profitable in Europe. Indeed, with America's appetite for enormous off-roaders still on the increase, the prospects for a tiny off-roader would seem doubtful. That said, the test program seems to be continuing.



Like the smaller two-wheel-drive Forfour supermini, with which it shares much of its underpinnings, the Formore will have pop-off plastic panels styled to emphasise the Tridion cell structure, though its steel-framed construction is actually rather conventional. It will feature a full-time four-wheel drive system, co-developed with Mitsubishi, and will sit on raised suspension; expect also the usual full range of off-roader styling cues - chunky bumpers, side sills, side body cladding, scuff plates and even a tailgate-mounted spare wheel - our spy shots clearly show the mounting plate for the spare on the bootlid.



Also caught out during cold whether testing near the artic circle was the Smart Fortwo Coupe and Cabriolet. Even though they are both heavily disguised, the proportions and layout of the cars appears little changed, so expect a cosmetic makeover without significant alterations to the Smart's basic architecture.

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