Is there anything you can’t slap some knobby off-road tires and extra running lights onto while removing the doors and not make cooler? Don’t answer that. Instead, gaze upon the latest proof of that theorem, the Citroën My Ami Buggy concept. See? Even the French get it when “it” is transforming something unexpected into an off-roader.
The spicy little croissant you’re looking at is based on the production My Ami, an electric micro car that, if not for its unusual doors, shape, design, and ultra-minimal interior would be an utter yawn-fest. Its on-paper specs are staggeringly uninteresting: 8 horsepower from an electric motor fed by a 5.5-kWh battery, a 28-mph top speed, and just 45 miles of driving range. Before you ask, no, the Ami isn’t sold in America, though you could possibly rent one.
That the Ami is outgunned by some e-bikes is beside the point, however, when you consider how clever its design is. The doors are the same pieces used on both sides, simply hinged from opposite ends of the car; the front and rear end designs are so similar, it looks the same coming as it does going; and all infotainment functions, such as they are, are handled by your smartphone and a plug.
It’s achingly French, and so admirably cheapo-bizarro that making it into a doorless buggy almost makes it more normal. The Buggy concept could probably make it about as far off-road as a puppy wearing skis, but who cares? The goofy exuberance of the aesthetic is what counts.
Citroën’s designers put tiny brush guards over the headlights and taillights! There is a low-slung bull bar jutting from the bumper that resembles a dentally challenged teenager’s headgear. As you can tell, there are no formal doors on the Buggy. Instead there are canvas panels that can be unfurled and secured via zippers for some weatherproofing, along with little demi-doors that can host the Buggy’s color-matched luggage set. The neon yellow, khaki, and black colors scheme makes it resemble a hiking boot, and we just swoon for those matte-gold wheels.
For reasons perhaps only the French could know, there are little neon-yellow arrows above each fender pointing down at the wheels. Never know when you might forget where those are! We can’t tell if there’s a fifth arrow pointing at the tiny spare tire riding on the Buggy’s roof; surely there must be. Similarly, should you forget who is driving the Ami, Citroën has helpfully labeled the driver’s side roof rail with the word “Pilot” and the matching spot on the passenger side with “Copilot.” Taking the labeling theme even further, Citroën included a “tribute to aviation” by way of more yellow arrow stickers under the spoiler that “show the direction of the wind.”
Useful upgrades include those adorable tires and, presumably for enhanced comfort over poor terrain, seat cushions twice as thick as those on regular Amis. There is a “nomadic speaker” that can be removed and used outside the car, a camera mount, and a little shade extending beyond the windshield. Oh, and how can we forget that aggro LED light bar on the front of the roof?
Will the My Ami Buggy concept turn into a real thing? We sort of doubt it has any real future beyond perhaps a cameo in a future Jurassic Park movie, as a park vehicle that is swallowed whole by a T-Rex in an early foreboding scene. That said, Citroën has churned out, however improbably, a military-spec Ami, as well as a Cargo model capable of transporting tens of Amazon packages. Ami-thing is possible, we suppose.
Keyword: Oh Me Oh My, Citroën's My Ami Minicar Is Now an Off-Road Buggy