Smart previews Frankfurt-bound concept

The company\'s next design study is autonomous and fully electric.

Daimler's smart division has released a teaser image to preview its next concept. The model will make its global debut in a few short weeks during the Frankfurt Auto Show.

The company explains its yet-unnamed concept is the first Daimler model which fully embodies the four pillars of CASE: connected, autonomous, shared, and electric. The concept takes car-sharing a step further, and promises to "make the vision of individualized, highly flexible urban public transport a reality."

A photo posted on smart's official Instagram page shows the concept takes the brand's design language into a sharper direction. From this angle it almost echoes the styling of the original fortwo which entered production in 1998. We'll reserve our final judgement until we see the full car.

Styling aside, the most striking part of the car is a big, maw-like screen that displays short messages. The concept presumably uses an advanced form of vehicle-to-vehicle communication to "talk" to other cars.

While technical details haven't been released yet, we already know the model is fully electric and entirely autonomous.

More details about smart's Frankfurt-bound concept will be published in the coming weeks. Leftlane will bring you live images of it straight from the show floor starting on September 12th.