Citroen Ami
| Citroën Ami | |
|---|---|
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Citroën Ami 6
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| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Citroën |
| Production | 1961—1978 |
| Assembly |
Rennes, France (Chartres-de-Bretagne quarter), France Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Supermini (B) |
| Body style | 4-door saloon 4-door estate 2-door van |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Related |
Citroën 2CV Citroën FAF Citroën Dyane Citroën M35 Citroën Méhari |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 602 cc flat-2 1015 cc flat-4 |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 95 in (2,413 mm) |
| Length | 3,920 mm (154 in) (Ami 6) |
| Width | 1,524 mm (60 in) |
| Height | 57 in (1,448 mm) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor |
Citroën Axel Citroën Visa |
The Citroën Ami is a four-door, front-wheel drive supermini manufactured and marketed by Citroën from 1961 to 1978 — at times the best-selling car model in France.
The Ami was offered in sedan and break (station wagon or estate) body styles over two generations, the Ami 6 and the Ami 8. The later Ami 8 sedan featured a steeply raked rear window, in contrast to the earlier reverse-raked rear window of the Ami 6.
Over 1,840,396 examples were manufactured over the entire production run. The Ami and Citroën Dyane were replaced by the Citroën Visa and Citroën Axel.
Ami is the French word for friend. With its 602 cc engine capacity fractionally above the limit for 2 CV designation, the Ami was nicknamed the 3CV, differentiating it from the long established Citroën 2CV.
3CV stands for Trois chevaux, or "three horses" — CV originally being the initials for "chevaux-vapeur" (horsepower - literally 'steam horses'), but used here for "chevaux fiscaux". The "cheval fiscal" was a French fiscal unit based on engine size with the smaller CV designating economy cars.
The Citroën Ami had its formal French launch on 25 April 1961, four months ahead of the August introduction of the widely anticipated Renault 4. Both the Renault 4 and the Citroën Ami responded to a perceived market need for a vehicle slightly larger and less rustic than the 2CV. The Ami is a rebodied 2CV with certain mechanical upgrades (particularly a larger engine than the 1950s 2CV), to compensate for the added weight. At launch all the cars were powered by an air cooled 602 cc two-cylinder flat engine which would also be offered at extra cost in the 2CV from 1970.
The platform chassis and suspension is similar to the 2CV, being independent all round using leading and trailing arms and coil springs interconnected front to rear. For a detailed suspension description see Citroën 2CV.
The Ami's seats were easily removable. Sales pitches of the Ami included photographs of the seats being used as picnic chairs.
The Ami and the Ford Taunus P3 were the first cars with rectangular or lozenge-shaped (non-round) headlights. This technical innovation was developed by lighting manufacturers Hella (Taunus) and Cibie (Ami). Soon this innovation found its way to the exclusive coach built Maserati 5000 GT. At the time, it was an unquestioned article of faith that headlights were round, and in the United States, it was the law, so these new headlights were illegal there until 1975. Ten years later this had inspired European automakers to come up with various non-round headlamp shapes.
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Wikipedia