We’re not quite sure what to make of this, but from what we’ve gathered, Mercedes->ke187 has filed patent drawings of what looks to be the next generation Smart Roadster->ke1312. The drawings were filed on November 16, 2010 and are now subject for trademark approval.

Now, it’s been almost a decade since Smart->ke83 came out with a roadster version of their ForTwo->ke1744 compact cars – anybody remember the Crossblade? – so this could very well be the supposed successor to that vehicle. On the flip side, seeing as Smart isn’t exactly selling like hotcakes these days, this rendering of the new Smart Roadster could very well be just a concept design that will be unveiled in order to gauge interest on the car.

We're not trying to take anything away from the design because we actually think it's pretty good. While it does resemble the Crossblade a tad, these drawings of the new roadster appear to have a number of changes on it including a conventional set of doors, a wind deflector, and a Tridion Safery Cell that’s a Smart ForTwo->ke1744 staple.

Whatever Mercedes’ plans are for this car, we can at least be sure that we’re going to see a concept version of this roadster down the road. But whether that translates to a production model still remains to be seen.

.