Debut Pick-Up Concept at Detroit

smart is preparing to launch their first pick-up concept at this year's Detroit Auto Show. Who would have thought? Yes, you read that title correctly. One wouldn't normally think that smart would have anything to do with pick-ups, and vice versa. However, Daimler has just announced that their small city car brand will in fact be unveiling the new smart for-us concept at the Detroit Auto Show next month.Powered by a state-of-the-art electric drive with a 55 kW magneto-electric motor, it has 95lb-ft of torque and a maximum speed in the neighborhood of 75mph.Its lithium battery has a capacity of 17.6 kWh. So how much space could a smart pick-up really have?According to the official press release, it has a longer wheelbase than the standard smart model and the track has been widened on each side. Additionally, the tailboard at the rear is electrical, as when it opens the cargo floor retracts and then the tailgate slides down in a parallel position.All told, there's some 900 mm in the cargo area. Daimler claims there's enough storage space to accommodate their own ebike. So we'll take this as there's sufficient room for any type of bike.The interior and exterior styling invoke sleek surfaces throughout. With brushed aluminum gracing the cockpit, there's also smartphone in place of the conventional rear-view mirror that's placed in a holder on top of the instrument panel support. This results in the driver being able to see what's happening on the road behind with the camera.For now, only these concept sketches have been released, so we'll have to wait a few more weeks to see the concept itself at Detroit.