Abstract
Aims. We aim to assess the nature of three WNh stars in the SMC, to constrain stellar evolution beyond the main sequence at low metallicity, and to investigate the metallicity dependence of the clumping properties of massive stars. Methods: We compute atmosphere models to derive the stellar and wind properties of the three WNh targets. A FUV/UV/optical/near-infrared analysis gives access to temperatures, luminosities, mass loss rates, terminal velocities and stellar abundances. Results: We find that all stars still have a large hydrogen mass fraction in their atmosphere, and show clear signs of CNO processing in their surface abundances. One of the targets can be accounted for by normal stellar evolution. It is a star with an initial mass around 40-50 Mȯ in, or close to, the core He burning phase. The other two objects likely follow a peculiar evolution, governed by fast rotation. In particular, one object is likely evolving homogeneously due to its position blue-ward of the main sequence and its high H mass fraction. The clumping factor of one star is found to be 0.15 ± 0.05. This is comparable to values found for Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars, indicating that within the uncertainties, the clumping factor does not seem to depend on metallicity. Based on observations collected at the ESO Very Large Telescope (programs 077.D-0029, 071.D-0272, 074.D-0696).