In an uncertain world, it’s hard to find constants that you can cling to, some sort of anchor of consistency that you can rely on. I think if there’s anything the past century has taught us, it’s that the French carmaker Citroën will always find some way to be cleverly and delightfully bonkers. They’ve delivered yet again, this time with a new concept car called Oli that seems to be the one of the vanishingly few modern EV concepts to push back on the idea that an EV has to be a big, heavy, ultra-fast, ultra-luxurious, tech-slathered behemoth that can do anything, but, in reality, won’t. The Oli is light, kinda slowish, but radically innovative, efficient, useful, and, if you ask me, fun. Let’s look at this thing.
Holy crap, right? Just look at it: yes, that’s an unashamedly vertical windshield. Bad for aero, sure, but who gives a shit when most of your driving is at city speeds? This thing is only designed to go 68 mph (fast enough for a road trip) and that flat windshield actually saves a ton of weight and material, which helps make up for the fact that it’s a big middle finger to the wind. Plus, Citroën’s press release also makes this interesting point:
“As well as reducing weight and complexity, the smaller screen is less expensive to produce or replace and lessens the exposure of occupants to the effects of the sun. It is also estimated to help reduce the power demand oli’s modest air conditioning system would make on its batteries by up to 17%.”
Huh. Okay, that makes sense.
Like a Nash Metropolitan, the doors are interchangeable on each side (well, the handle needs to be re-loacted, but still.) Same goes for the front and rear bumpers – damn, it feels like old-school AMC up in here. Speaking of old-school, check out the Citroën double-chevron logo inset in that oval; it looks like something that hasn’t really been on Citroëns since about 1955:
That 2CV there is actually a very good spiritual template for the Oli, as they both share a fundamental no-bullshit, what’s-the-minimum-you-need-to-get-the-job-done mentality. That’s why the Oli, at only about 2,200 pounds – easily half what the average modern EV weighs –only needs a 40 kWh battery to squeeze out a range of about 250 miles, and that smaller battery pack should be able to charge from 20% to 80% in 23 minutes, at least according to the press release.
Some of the big flat body panels on this thing are made from recycled cardboard. That sounds pretty flimsy, but it looks like it’s not, you know, the same crap you’re jumping on before flinging into a dumpster:
“Made from recycled corrugated cardboard formed into a honeycomb sandwich structure between fiberglass reinforcing panels, they have been co-created with partner BASF. They are coated in Elastoflex® Polyurethane resin covered in a protective layer of tough, textured Elastocoat®, which is often used on parking decks or loading ramps, and painted with innovative, waterborne BASF R-M Agilis® paint.
The panels are very rigid, light and strong – so strong that an adult can stand on them – and weight is reduced by 50 percent when compared to an equivalent steel roof construction. Their versatility and durability open up a world of possibilities for owners to enjoy work and recreation.”
Those panels are used on the hood, roof, and, yes, in a sort of pickup bed, because this thing isn’t just your usual hatchback. There’s a load bed that’s over three feet wide and two feet long that can transform, by folding the rear headrests into the roof and opening the rear glass, into a load bed that’s almost three and a half feet long. Not full truck size, sure, but plenty usable, and there’s an enclosed trunk underneath that.
The inside is minimal and clever, too, with front seats that use only eight parts, and everything is 100% recycled thermoplastics. I’m not sure exactly what’s going on with what looks like a forest of golf tees on the dash there, but it seems they’re flexible and designed to hold drink cans and stuff like that.
There’s no integrated screens or anything like that because Citroën just figures you can dock your own computer you have on you at all times, anyway: your phone. Also interesting is the use of an off-the-shelf game console joystick:
I know this is very much a concept car, and not something likely to be produced like this, but it’s so crammed full of good ideas, and, more importantly, a fundamental concept that’s sorely missing from modern EVs: less is more.
Not every EV needs to get to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds or needs to be crammed full of computers and so luxurious that it takes a colossal battery to get any sort of decent range and then you’ve got a 5,000 behemoth before you know it, and that’s just ridiculous.
Cars like this Oli show that you can design a useful, practical, fun and novel SUV that doesn’t have to end up with a gravitational pull of a small moon.
One other thing that was mentioned in this press release that I feel like I almost never hear about is how the car will age and be to own and repair:
“A key element of the oli story is how it has been conceived with longevity to create its own circular economy. It shows how a vehicle can be easily and affordably reinvented for several subsequent lives with new owners using refurbished parts, new décors or colours, and even upgraded parts over time.
Overall cost of ownership will be low, but if there is a need to replace a door, headlamp or bumper, recycled parts could be sourced responsibly via Citroën from other oli vehicles that are no longer serviceable.
Logically, if it costs more to refurbish a vehicle than to buy a new one, vehicles won’t be refurbished. oli changes this – it be more environmentally and economically positive to refurbish than replace over several lifecycles. When no longer economical to refurbish, Citroën would turn each oli into a recycled parts donor for others requiring parts or send other parts for general recycling.”
Is this suggesting some sort of dealer-run junkyards? At the very least I’m excited to hear any automaker discussing parts replacement in such an easy, modular way.
I’m all for cars like this. I’m sick of big-ass, heavy, overdone SUVs that need more of absolutely everything – time, power, exotic materials, egos, whatever. Give me something light and tough and as flexible as a Swiss Army knife, and if it looks gleefully weird, all the better.
If they ever make a cardboard car, Jason should take it to Sandy Munro to find out if it is up to Changli standards.
I love that chonki boi! I especially love the mesh back seating. A greatly simplified production process is always interesting in itself.
Citroën is the company I’ve always dreamed of designing for. They might be the only Western automotive company left taking a fresh look at everything and looking for ways to improve, simplify, and innovate in sustainable ways.
Innovation is also why I’m currently so appreciative of The Autopian’s coverage of the Chinese market. They come up with some really weird, fun, risk-taking ideas there, too! Most auto sites don’t even acknowledge the existence of the Chinese market but the reality is that China is becoming more innovative every year.
We need all auto companies to remember what Citroën never actually forgot: doing strange things is often how you find the future version of “normal”, and it’s a lot of fun.
I’m all for reducing screens, but I’d still like a speedo and battery meter.
The fact that it weighs 2,200 lbs ready to drive while lugging around a 40 kWh pack is impressive. I suspect that range figure is for city driving. I don’t see this getting more than 100 miles range at top speed unless it has an unexpectedly low drag coefficient. I expect it to have a CdA value comparable to a modern pickup truck or SUV, and its low weight won’t save its limited energy storage space at highway speeds because of its aero.
Now imagine a Lotus 11 sized streamliner with said pack, and an overall CdA of around 0.2 m^2. It would lose hundreds of pounds, and range per charge would exceed that of most gasoline powered cars. Throw a Tesla Model 3 drivetrain into such a thing, and you’d have one of the fastest production cars ever made. And it would probably be cheaper than a Miata to build if you could do so in enough volume. Who wouldn’t want a sub $30,000 no-frills hypercar killing track toy that approaches 500 miles range on the highway when driven sanely?
Wish it came with a red interior…
What a lemon! A few odd design choices here, but come on, it wouldn’t be a Citroën if it didn’t. Still, I’m right there with you, Torch. We don’t need screens, we don’t need 1000 hp motors that take us to “Plaid”. Simple, rugged, decent mileage and DC fast-charging capable : this ticks all my boxes for the perfect EV, but I would like a slightly curved windshield, please. After owning a short-range (<100 miles) EV for 6 months now, I've found that it fulfills 95% or more of all my driving needs. When we go on road trips, we rent a BEV with more range, or a hybrid. A BEV with 250 miles range and DC fast-charging is perfect for any road trip I'd be willing to take. I'm glad to see that Citroën is thinking along the same lines and I hope other automakers start to do that also.
THIS….SO MUCH THIS.
THIS is the way EVs should be going! Not bloated heavy SUVs and crossovers! I don’t need touchscreen BS and complicated everything. I don’t care how fast it is in a straight line as almost all fancy EVs seem to think is so important.
I want clever, reliable, easy to use, cheap to repair, useful, practical and UNCOMPLICATED. I would 400% buy this if it ever was built.
No Jason. No. This is not new and it’s not innovative. It’s a rehash, a literal and artistic rehash, of the Picasso except the Oli was actually designed by Picasso himself. I’m not a religious man but if there is a God he will burn that abomination!
God will burn it if he hasn’t gouged his own eyes out first. This is Paris catwalk material – it is that bizarre. All of this technological wizardry is amazing but in this suit of clothes it is as useful as bulletproof boxers or 19″ high heels (they hurt like hell btw).
Many years ago a car designer (can’t remember who) said that if one can’t tell the front end from the back then it’s a successful design. Mission accomplished.
On the interchangeable doors: Why not do it Geo Storm style – hole in the body behind the main door that you reach into to get the door latch – so you don’t actually have to move the door handle and can use the exact same skin on each side? Or you could put the latch mechanism on the main body behind the door so you use a switch or handle in that odd gap where the side window goes down so you can have fewer parts.
Nothing good ever comes of press releases that insist on referring to the product without capitalization.
Sold! Checks all the right boxes for me.
This looks like a Nissan Pulsar NX crossbred with a big fat Toyota .FJ Cruiser.
Cardboard? It looks like it is made out of Lego!
Um.. body panels with corregated cardboard honeycomb inners and fiberglass skin. What a coincidence that this appears right next to Mercedes’ article on camper deterioration. So either it’s a horrid idea, or camper makers need to follow Citroen’s lead. I’m gonna guess that over time, it’ll turn out to be the first.
That’s just weird: I like it. Love the low weight, but wonder how much that would rise with mandatory safety equipment (does that steering wheel have an airbag?). Having been stung by exciting concepts several times (side-eye @ VW), I won’t hold my breath, but will be interested to see what-if anything-comes of this.
Small, cheap, light, with decent enough range. If the price is right, this sounds amazing. This would make for a perfect daily driver allowing you to enjoy your gas guzzlers to the weekend
So far Stellantis hasn’t delivered on my dreams of funky Citroën styling coming to the US. They need to put a Ram badge on this. Call it the Ram Chop (Get it? Like lamb chop).
Really odd, but honestly I’d take damn near any new Citroen in the US at this point.
Please tell me that windshield pops out like VW type 1 bus…
Or folds down like a CJ Jeep.
That would be amazing.
this. more this.
I love a design like this. I loved the the 2CV and Dyane, the Beetle, the Renault 4, the many Fiats (500, 126, 127, Panda), and on and on. Small, cheap, good enough, moving on. It’s an appliance. Fun history: we put 6 people into my aunt’s Dyane when I was a kid and drove from Vienna to the Italian coast – took forever, of course. One person had to sit on the lap of the other three in the back seat, and no, there were no seat belts. We passed 3 vehicles on the trip: a bicycle, a moped, and a car that was burning, but still driving. I was just with my cousins, still laughing about this trip, 40 years later. So yeah, I like Citroen and their weirdness. Keep it coming.
I must have looked at this thing half a dozen times before I figured out the front end. I kept reading it as something like the Canoo truck. Good to see Citroen continuing the theme of backwards concept cars (see Renault Project 900). And so nice to see an EV ‘truck’ that isn’t 6,000 lb. Can’t wait to see how this evolves into something for production.
This thing rules and I want one!
Honestly I would love driving this around town. I can’t imagine what those curved windows cost to replace, but the in rest of the vehicle I really love the quirkiness.
Yeah, odd choice to bang on about how you put a flat windscreen in to save money, complexity and A/C use (and didn’t even angle it slightly to improve aero), but then make all the normally flat glass in the side panels curved. I assume they most be a non-glass material, but still going to let a much of extra heat in, even tinted.