Too many off-roaders these days are big, brawny, and brash. It’s all angry-eyed Jeeps, Land Rover-styled FJ Cruisers, or the “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed” face of the new Land Cruiser. Angry Offroad is an actual site that sells actual products. Refreshingly, Citroën has come to us with a different line of thinking: What if an off-roader was just the cutest lil’ thing you ever did see?
Enter the My Ami Buggy Concept, one of the most friend-shaped cars in recent memory. It’s based on the Ami city car, a fully-electric compact commuter that a 14-year old can buy and drive (in France) for the equivalent of about $6800. Its name even means “friend.”
Of course, getting from the Ami to the My Ami Buggy means making a few changes. Wide fender flares cover knobby off-road tires, and tiny little grilles cover those doe-eyed headlights. The doors are gone, replaced with retractable canvas, but a little tubular half-door remains along the bottom of the car. There’s a light bar, a roof-mounted spare, and a full range of matched luggage. And look at that visor over the windshield! It’s like it’s wearing a little hat.
Citroën calls the My Ami Buggy “a study in style” that “illustrates one of the many faces that could be developed for Ami.” While that phrasing doesn’t exactly sound like the car is destined for production, it seems like some accessories designed for the Buggy could see the light of day on the standard Ami. The company mentions a cell phone holder, a cup holder, and a camera mount that seem far more viable to build.
Unfortunately, we here in the U.S. may never see the Ami officially land on our shores. This is a travesty, an outrage, simply because look at its little face. Citroën, I beg of you: Overlanding is so hot in the United States right now. Please, give us this friend.