I was walking in Paris last summer when I came on one of the oddest cars I’ve ever seen outside a museum—and here it is: the Citroen Ami. Except it’s not really a car.
Despite having four wheels, a steering wheel and car-like controls, it is technically a ‘two passenger electric quadricycle,’ and is limited to speeds under 45kmh or 28 mph. It doesn’t even require a car driver’s license; only a 7-hour high school road safety class is required for anyone over 14, and those born before 1988 don’t need even that.
Almost no one owns an Ami, largely because it was built with a car-sharing network in mind. Called Free Move, it is operated by the same company of which Citroen is a part. It can be rented either short-term or long-term, and can be ordered online, or at technology stores like FNAC. It’s assembled at Citroen’s plant in Morocco, and is also sold under the Opel name as the Rocks-e.
But by now you are probably wondering why it looks so strange, and why it’s hard to tell which end you’re looking at. And that’s because to keep the cost as low as possible, parts are kept to a minimum. As you can see, the only difference between the front and the back is what color lights are installed. The sides are also the same—so much the same that while the passenger door opens like on any other car, the driver’s door opens the opposite way! And, because there’s no trunk lid, storage spaces are accessible only from inside.
The Ami has a range of about 75km, and a lithium-ion battery that recharges in about three hours on a household outlet. Total weight is less than 500 kg. If you’re interested in another color, by the way, forget it. ‘Ami Blue’ is the color and there’s no paint involved; the color is molded into the plastic body parts.
But, it is kinda cute. Wonder what it will look like when it grows up!
