Citroen has confirmed it’ll produce 1,000 Ami electrical buggies that can go on sale subsequent yr – and a few may very well be heading to the UK.
The Ami electrical quadricycle has proved successful for the French model because it was unveiled in 2020.
It additionally sparked the manufacturing of fifty limited-edition Ami Buggy fashions to be bought in France solely earlier this yr – all of which had been snapped up inside 18 minutes of being introduced.
Nevertheless, Citroen says it’ll make one other 1,000 examples to be bought to European prospects, with costs anticipated to be in extra of £8,700.
Whereas a doorless electrical car with a spread of 46 miles could be a great choice for summer season within the South of France, the uncovered microcar may turn into the worst potential car on sale for British winters – particularly with one other blast of Arctic climate predicted after Christmas.
The worst car for winter in Britain? Citroen confirms it’ll produce a restricted run of 1,000 doorless Ami electrical buggies, with some doubtlessly out there to UK prospects. With an Arctic blast of climate incoming, it could be essentially the most unsuitable mannequin for our roads right now of yr
Citroen on Thursday introduced that simply 1,000 restricted version My Ami Buggy fashions will probably be on sale subsequent yr.
That is Cash contacted the producer’s UK division and was informed by a spokesperson that there’s not but affirmation concerning if any will probably be bought in Britain, with particulars about availability coming in spring 2023.
The dedication to make extra examples of the doorless Ami follows the massive success of the traditional electrical passenger mannequin that is been on sale within the UK since this yr.
The EV – which technically qualifies as a ‘gentle quadricycle’ and never a automobile, and due to this fact could be pushed by motorists as younger as 16 with an AM moped licence – prices from £7,695 within the UK and can be out there as a single-seat industrial car designed for last-mile deliveries in cities.
The diminutive motor is simply 2.4 metres lengthy, 1.4 metres extensive and 1.5 metres tall, making it the smallest ‘automobile’ at present on the street.
Efficiency is equally modest, with energy provided by a 5.5kW battery and 8bhp electrical motor driving the entrance wheels offering a restricted high velocity of simply 28mph.
The vary on a full cost is simply 46 miles, although the compact battery pack takes simply three hours to cost utilizing a traditional three-pin home plug and socket.
A manufacturing run of 1,000 examples has been confirmed after the unique output of fifty particular version My Ami Buggy fashions bought out in France inside 18 minutes of being out there
Citroen UK says it can not but verify if any of the 1,000 My Ami Buggies will probably be bought to UK prospects. This is the way it compares to the traditional Ami EV that has not too long ago gone on sale within the UK
The My Ami Buggy is predicated on this idea car beneath the identical title that Citroen first revealed again in December 2021
If this does not sound excessive sufficient, the My Ami Buggy takes issues to an entire new degree.
It is a stripped-back model of a wacky idea Ami the model revealed final December – and says acquired ‘extraordinarily constructive reception’ from potential prospects.
Whereas the idea had no doorways in any respect, Citroen’s 1,000 manufacturing My Ami Buggy is fitted with hinged metallic tubing rather than full panels.
It additionally has a removable soft-top roof part, which is impressed by that of the long-lasting 2CV. This sunroof-sized material cowl could be rolled again and saved in a compartment behind the 2 seats.
Dinky and doorless: The My Ami Buggy will options these hinged metallic tubing ‘doorways’ as an alternative of conventional panels
My Ami Buggy additionally incorporates a removable soft-top roof part, just like the long-lasting 2CV. With temperatures in Britain predicted to drop dramatically after Christmas, the uncovered electrical car won’t be the only option for UK drivers
The restricted run of automobiles go on sale in spring 2023. First deliveries are anticipated in the summertime, Citroen says
Whereas these options sound idyllic for a brief summer season scuttle to a seaside on the Mediterranean coast, it may very well be the least acceptable car for Britain’s sub-zero winters.
Citroen says the Ami is already getting used on the island of Halki off the coast of Greece the place the police and Coast Guard drives them. Seven Amis have additionally been added to the Italian island of Maddalena’s police fleet.
May you reside with a Citroen Ami?
The Citroen Ami’s tiny dimensions, seats for simply two occupants, no boot, 28mph high velocity and 46-mile vary make it some of the restricted automobiles you’ll be able to legally drive on the street in Britain.
And priced from £7,695, it isn’t low-cost.
To seek out out if we may dwell with one every day, we spent every week driving the Citroen Ami earlier this yr.
However climates in these picturesque resorts will probably be removed from the freezing circumstances seen in Britain, particularly in winter – this season particularly.
Forecaster this week have warned {that a} new Arctic blast of chilly climate may very well be heading for the UK after Christmas as icey temperatures are predicted throughout the nation till the center of January.
Consultants say the circumstances may see temperatures drop as little as -11C.
Not what you’d name the best local weather for a automobile with out doorways.
The impression of colder temperatures additionally hampers battery effectivity of electrical automobiles, with sub-zero circumstances dramatically decreasing vary capabilities. In a car that supply a most of 46 miles of driving, it is one more reason why many will contemplate the My Ami Buggy a horrible selection for Britons.
The restricted version doorless fashions additionally get a roof spoiler on the rear – although at high speeds of 28mph, we doubt it’ll generate a lot downforce – and chunky plastic panel protectors across the headlight cluster and wheel arches.
Citroen says it ‘will probably be similar to the primary version, however with just a few shock options over the present My Ami Buggy’.
There’s not but affirmation concerning color choices, with the primary 50 automobiles bought in 2022 solely out there in military-grade Khaki inexperienced with yellow accents.
The French maker identified that it will likely be bought on a ‘first come, first served’ foundation, with prospects excited about a My Ami Buggy informed to ‘stand able to seize the chance on the very first day it goes on sale on the finish of the primary quarter of 2023’.
To do that, they might want to register an expression of curiosity by way of Citroen’s web site.
There isn’t a affirmation concerning value, although it’ll virtually actually come at a premium over the costliest standard Ami – the Tonic – which rings in at £8,695.
First deliveries to European prospects are anticipated to reach on the finish of the summer season.
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