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Citroen ami feature

Citroen Ami Buggy Concept as Close to a Modern Mini Moke as We’ll Get


Show your old man a picture of the Citroen Ami Buggy concept and he’ll probably agree.

While we’re still awaiting the return of the official MOKE to Australian shores (it’s looking grim) Citroen has some good news for us by way of this micro-mobility recreational vehicle they call the AMI Buggy. It might be a concept in its current state, but the vehicle is based on a real operational EV in the brand’s lineup.

You’d have to agree that Ami’s sheer lack of creature comforts, doors, outright power, and practically anything you look for in a modern vehicle instantly reminds you of the iconic Mini Moke. A vehicle whose standard features include; headlights, indicators, and windscreen wipers. We love everything about the Ami, from its little light bar, fanny pack, plastic doors, and knobby tires. Let’s take a closer look.

Citroen ami in the vineyards
Image: Citroen

The wide stance of the micro-machine instantly sets the tone, giving the vehicle loads of character with its chunky tyres that appear to have come straight off an RZR side-by-side. It’s the Ami Buggy’s adventurous character that makes it so appealing, just like the Moke, the Ami is far from what many would consider “a car” and Samuel Pericles, Designer of My Ami Buggy would tend to agree.

“My Ami Buggy is a proposition in line with the philosophy of Ami Electric, which is not a car… The simple, extruded shapes of the camera and smartphone holders, for example, were inspired by the work of designers who created essential and timeless consumer objects in the second half of the last century. My Ami Buggy Concept needed to be functional and simple, in the purest spirit of iconic and contemporary industrial objects,” he said in a statement.

None is more obvious than in Ami’s use of bolt-ons. Just like the Mini Moke from yesteryear, the Ami features front bull-bar, protective headlight grilles, and plastic door covers for the weather. They’ll do little to protect anything offroad, but it’s all in the name of fun and the same can be said of the roof-mounted spare wheel and light bar, mostly providing a reference point for which direction this palindrome of a vehicle is heading.

Yep, palindrome, have you noticed the Citroen Ami Buggy is the same shape front and back? Hilarious stuff.

Citroen ami luggage
Image: Citroen

Once you jump into the Ami, you’ll find touches of highlighter yellow on everything that functions. Most notably, a ‘bum bag’ attaches to a magnet in the centre of the steering wheel specially recessed to accommodate it – the bag can also be worn by the driver or passenger when eshay activity ensues.

We absolutely love everything about the My Ami Buggy Concept and can’t think of a better mode of transport to the beach on the weekend. Sporting a 5.5 kWh battery with 43 miles of range and a top speed of just 28 mph it’s not great for distance transportation, but the smiles per mile will make up the difference.

The Citroen is about as close to a modern Mini Moke as we’re ever going to get, and if the current Citroen Ami price of £6,000 ($8,000 USD) after tax in Britain is anything to go off, it’ll be a cheap runaround for adventuring Aussies.

Citroen ami original
This is the full size (and functional), Citroen Ami, that the buggy concept is based on.

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