I’ll admit that I’ve always loved the Citroën Ami’s design, despite knowing that, objectively, the front end is really, really awkward-looking. Some may say “ugly,” but I won’t. It’s too interesting to be ugly, to compellingly weird. It introduced rectangular headlamps, but then surrounded them with oval bezels, and draped everything with that strange, languid arc of a hoodline, like the hood was fabric, held up by the headlight pods. It’s so strange.
The grille is awkward and small, the indicators are set into a strange linear, chrome-bordered recess that feels like part of something else, and the hardware for the bumper doesn’t look like automotive hardware; the bumper looks like it’s made from bathroom grab handle railings, or something.
And yet, despite all this, somehow I like that weird, grumpy face. It has real charm behind it, a peculiar sort of fussy, weird charm, like an annoying friend that would do anything if it makes things more fun, even if they won’t shut up or not make weird noises when they chew.
Maybe that’s why it’s called the Ami?
This reminds me of the face view of the live crabs encountered at the beach. Or some weird ass insect/monster made out of a result of the bombing of Nagasaki. And it’s fixing to fight Godzilla to the bitter death.
I’m getting an Admiral Ackbar vibe. It’s a trap!
If that’s not the equivalent of a car wearing sunglasses, I don’t know what is.
I know there’s a lot going on with the front end of this car. But the thing I can’t get past is the position the wipers are parked in. The passenger one is halfway up the windshield, and the driver one isn’t much better. Were they unable to design a linkage that could provide enough angular travel?
I think that it’s an homage to the jaunty angle that French citizens wear their berets at
My father had one of these when I was 5 years old. It’s built on the 2CV chassis and I still remember the way it dipped and dove and leaned over bumps and around corners. I don’t know how I ever kept my lunch down!
French Arthouse Cinema presents, “It Came from the Sea”.
Now in pastel-vision.
It does somewhat resemble the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
I love how up until recently car faces had the full gamut of human expressions. That one is not even mad, just disappointed. Cheer up, buddy! Bask in the joys of not having to look like an angry catfish all the time!
I’ve never found the Ami ugly. It’s weird, but not ugly.
Does this thing have malaria? What’s with the yellow eyes. I would be okay having the hot chick as a girlfriend and it being her car I drove occasionally. Can’t be sure I drive it without more pictures.
French cars were required to have yellow headlights up until the 90s. Its called “selective yellow”
???? Ami, what you want to do?
I think I could drive in you
For a while, maybe longer if I do ????
I’m falling in and out of love with Ami.
I make the same face when I wake up with a hangover.
Having lived and worked in Germany for nearly 30 years, I encountered all manner of strange (to me) cars and trucks from all over Europe. None intrigued me more that the French. In that time I owned two Citroen, a CX2000, and a 2CV. Both were great cars and the CX saved my life in a horrendous crash with a semi tanker truck. I always admired the ugly beast we are discussing today and wanted one just to say I had one. Sadly too late.
I have always thought it looks a bit like the villain from Goldfinger.
No! Don’t do it. You have so much to live for. We can always get you a prettier car.
FWIU these were intended to have a sloping front, roughly level with the low point of the drooping hood. That fell afoul of French headlight-height regulations (and by extension, everywhere else’s) and pop-up headlights weren’t really a thing yet in 1960, and would’ve been way out of budget in any case, so this was the solution they came up with.
Also, the Ami 6 was sold in the US in the early ’60s. It wasn’t very successful – the market for imported small sedans that weren’t VW bugs had basically collapsed when the Falcon, Corvair and Valiant came on the scene for 1960 and wouldn’t recover until Datsun and Toyota started to get serious in 1966-68 – but it exists in all its’ quad-sealed-beam, VW-style bumper orthodontics glory;
http://www.citroenet.org.uk/foreign/usa/images/ami-6-f.jpg
The quad sealed beams were actually also offered in France. Citroen wasn’t sure people would like the novel rectangular headlights, so they offered the sealed beams on the highest trim level as a backup.
Went down the Wikipedia rabbit hole and now I want a ride in the M35 version with the wankel.
I brought you here because you said you were going to throw yourself into the sea. This is NOT what I envisioned. Why. Why must you waste my, and everyone else around you too, why must you waste all of our time in this way.
The car is evil.
(and ugly)
I always loved these, especially the 6 with its strange rear window arrangement. Remembers me of hot summer vacations in the south of France (more than 30 years ago), where all these cars (AMI, Renault 4, Citroen 2CV etc.) were parked in the little dusty villages in front of a café or a boulangerie…
Did she back down that ramp? With all of those rocks back there….she did drive UP right?
It’s a Citroen… It probably has at least six inches ground clearance and hydraulic suspension or something, right?
Disclaimer: I know nothing about the Ami
Looks to me like a rather melancholy automaton deciphering the just-presented orthodontist’s bill
I always called it
Penélope Pitstop! All it needs are eyelashes!
ALL HAIL HYPNOTOAD’S CAR!!!!!!!!
The car has a look of utter disdain and contempt, with its furrowed brow and slightly open mouth. I can practically hear it calling me an uncultured American slob. It doesn’t get more French than that.
Around puffs of smoke, of course. It’s not a two-stroke but maybe the piston rings have seen better days…
It looks better than anything BMW is doing right now!
The new Ami is also strangely charming and appealing despite resembling a rolling refrigerator.