Ami Gang T-Shirt

The one thing the Ami it’s not, is a car.

Yes, it looks like one, having four wheels and all, but the Citroen Ami is actually designated as a quadricycle, neatly sidestepping a whole host of regulations needed to actually be classed as a grown-up vehicle. So you get a tiny 458kg (including the battery pack) ‘urban mobility object’ designed to be a personal transport module that replaces things like the Tube or a bus ride. Or even an eBike or scooter. Basically the automotive missing link. It is not big: well under a metre and a half wide (1.4, in fact) and less than two-and-a-half long, but can seat two in relative comfort. Although not a lot of comfort, and it depends on your definition. Under the front is a 6kW motor and 5.5kWh battery pack - and no, that’s not a typo - single-speeding the front axle and providing a top speed of less than 50km/h, with a possible 85 kilometers of range.

The body itself is made of unpainted/impregnated ‘Blue Ami’ plastic draped over a rudimentary box-section chassis, and if you look closely, you’ll notice that the car is actually symmetrical - the front and rear panels are the same, the side glass and doors etc all swappable from side to side. That cuts production costs and makes it cheap - but more on that in a moment. What this is, is a vehicle designed for the most niche of intra-urban commuting, literally across cities. Think of it less as a car, and more of the world’s most complicated umbrella - instead of biking across town or risking the vagaries of public transport, you just totter around in an Ami, keeping yourself personally secure and your hair dry. It is a completely joyful thing to potter around town in. Everybody loves it, and it generates the kind of feel good not possible even in a supercar. Basically the Ami is whatever the opposite of over-compensation is - although only for people who commute short distances where they very much don’t have to drive on fast A-roads or motorways. Mainly because it’s illegal to do so in a ‘car’ so small and slow.

As mentioned, the Ami is a rubbish car, but an entirely loveable object. It’s not fun to drive, but it is fun to use. In a city, at least. There’s a joy in it’s simplicity, in the way that it’s been designed, in the way that Citroen is embracing quirkiness. It’s not sophisticated or ground-breaking, but it is fun and interesting.

in topgear.com