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Citroen ami6
Citroën Ami
Citroën
aka Citroën 3CV
Production 1840159 units
Class Compact Car
Body Style 4door sedan or break
Length 3960mm
Width Width - type here
Height 1480-1495 mm
Wheelbase wheelbase - type here
Weight 620-805kg (empty)
Transmission FWD
Engine Bicylinder
Power N/A hp @ N/A rpm
N/A lb-ft of torque @ N/A rpm
Similar Renault 4
Designer Designer (lead designer if it was a team effort)

The Citroën Ami 6 (popularly called the "3 CV") is a sedan and station wagon produced by the French car manufacturer Citroën from 1961 to 1969. The Ami 8 will take over until 1978. The primary objective was to offer to customers a compromise between two models, the DS at the top of the range, and the 2 CV which constituted a minimum automobile.

He derived from it a very popular range of vehicles declined in several forms.

The Citroën Ami built on the 2 CV platform were manufactured temporarily in the Panhard factory in Paris and then very quickly in the newly created Rennes-la-Janais (Ille-et-Vilaine) and in Forest in Belgium. It was the best-selling car in France in 1966, taking first place for the Renault 4 for one year because the 5 CV versions of it were counted separately.

Project[]

Since the 1930s to the mid-1950s, Citroën has not developed a mid-range automobile between the 2 CV 375 and 425 cm3 on the one hand and the ID19 and DS 19 of 1 911 cm3 on the other. In 1956, he therefore only had the DS and the 2 CV in the catalog. At that time, the design offices were working on a project for an intermediate vehicle, the AM project (M for mid-range), but technical and economic constraints lead the project towards the realization of a “super 2 CV”.

The specifications require a comfortable four-seater vehicle not to exceed four meters. Very quickly, the decision was taken to adapt a new bodywork to the “Type A” platform. As a result, the wheelbase was limited and, as the boss at the time, Pierre Bercot, did not want a utility line (therefore with a hatchback), it was imperative to end up with a three-volume car. However, in a 2 CV, the roof descent is such that the rear window forces the passengers to tilt their heads forward to take their seats. Flaminio Bertoni, creator of the Traction Avant, 2 CV and DS, found a solution: he proposed to reverse the slope of the bezel to offer passengers more comfort. The inverted rear window, also present on the Ford Anglia from September 1959 then the British Ford Consul 315 in May 1961, results in a rather controversial "Z" profile. However, it allows easy access to the imposing trunk; it is also appreciated in snowy weather, as it does not settle on the bezel. Present for the first time on the 1953 Packard Balboa X prototype, we find this line in the 1990s on the Toyota Will Vi released in Japan.

The 425 cm3 “boxer twin engine” of the 2 CV not being powerful enough for the weight of the envisaged bodywork, its displacement is increased by the bore while keeping the engine base. It will be set at 602 cm3 to remain within the administrative limit of the 3 fiscal CVs (610 cm3).

The Friend 6 innovates sociologically by presenting itself on advertising documents as the second ideal car for Madame. As for the name "Friend", it would have been born from the association of the name AM, continuation of the project M, of the number 6 corresponding to its engine capacity and some put forward the hypothesis of the proximity with the word "amici" ("friends »In Italian, native language of Flaminio Bertoni). In fact, according to Citroën archives, the I was added to the AM designation for Automobile de Milieu de gamme.

Mme Yvonne de Gaulle was driving a Carrara white Ami 6 sedan (AC144).

Models[]

Ami 6 (1961-1969)[]

The Ami 6 was released in 1961, between the 2CV and the DS.

the car recovers the best assets of its sisters: the robustness and rusticity of the 2 CV (chassis-platform and mechanics) as well as the finish inspired by the DS (soft seats, single-spoke steering wheel, door handles and controls). The car quickly met with success, despite youthful flaws such as a too thin sheet metal, a rear trunk opening latch located under the rear seat and spartan equipment (no automatic windshield wipers return until August 1961 ...), as well as the evacuation of rainwater accumulated in the roof gutter which required two modifications before the appearance of two holes directly above the uprights in July 1962 (first positioned above the windshield wipers, in the event of heavy rain, they caused runoff on the windshield; then completely removed, packets of water poured out during braking). The wiper blades initially facing down the windshield on the driver's side are quickly replaced by blades aligned in line with the brush holders. The front windows are sliding for their rear half, those of the rear doors are fixed until August 1961. The window frames are in aluminum, showing a gouge line until July 1963. Then they have three lines until replacement for the 1969 model year with steel profiles in the body color or covered with a stainless steel trim on the "Club" station wagon finish. The third window of the Ami 6 or Ami 8 station wagons is just surrounded by a large black rubber gasket with a thin stainless steel strip in "Club" finish. The top of the dashboard, initially in gray granite hard plastic, is quickly covered with a soft plastic coating of the same color. For the 1967 model year, the dashboard turns black. The comfortable benches are removable and can be placed on the ground (Citroën wanted to make an advertising argument, then changed its mind). It rolls at nearly 105 km / h and drives with the foot to the ground as specified in the specifications.

Ami 8 (1969-1978)[]

In March 1969, the Ami 6 is replaced by the Ami 8. This one uses identically most of the body parts of the Ami 6 (platform, body, side doors, roof, rear fenders except for the location of the red lights) and brings a more classic and less tormented line thanks to a completely redesigned front with a so-called "Italian-style" hood, that is to say an opening which does not extend to the front of the car . The first 1969-1970 models did not feature Citroën chevrons on the grille. The restyling is done under the direction of stylist Robert Opron to whom we owe the GS, CX and SM coupe.

Like the Ami 6, the Ami 8 is available in “comfort” and “club” versions (separate front seats, stainless steel window surrounds and side protection strips such as “DS Pallas”) and as a station wagon, still very popular with the car. clientele, especially rural. The sedan abandons the reverse rear window but does not benefit from a hatchback. The sliding front windows are abandoned in favor of descending windows operated by a crank, from the 1971 models, those of the rear windows will remain sliding until the end of production.

On the mechanical side, the twin-cylinder of 602 cm2 (M28) is still present, with a double-barrel carburetor and a redesigned intake manifold. It is associated with a 4-speed gearbox, revised and corrected, on the Ami 6, in 1967. The gain in power allows the Ami 8 to be equipped, for 1970, with disc brakes at the front, attached to the gearbox, and a ball joint transmission. The front and rear suspension quickly abandons the inertia beaters and gains a front anti-roll bar (torsion bar linking the two wheel arms of the same axle). The maximum speed of the sedan is given for 123 km / h, that of the station wagon, for 120 km / h.

During its presentation, Citroën knows that the Ami 8 will be the last Ami. In fact, from 1974 onwards, production figures were below 100,000 copies per year, far from the 169,000 sold in 1967. At the start of 1973, Citroën presented the “Ami Super”, powered by the 1,015 cm3 engine of the first GS. Due to reliability and consumption issues, it is a commercial failure. The copies in good condition are very popular today.

When Citroën was taken over by Peugeot in 1974, production of the Ami 8 station wagon and sedan continued. In 1976, sales of the Ami 8 collapsed, dropping from 90,000 copies in 1974 to 54,000 copies.

Citroën puts an end to the line of Ami by presenting two new models, from Peugeot 104 bases: the LN in 1976 (104 coupe) and the Visa in 1978. The latter, driven by the twin-cylinder engine increased to 652 cm3 and electronic ignition full on the basic versions, replaces the Ami 8 but never has a station wagon version.

The Ami 8 sedan left the automotive scene in July 1978, followed in September by the station wagon, the last of which featured a black dashboard and metallic colors. It was not until the arrival of the ZX station wagon in 1994 that the Ami 8 station wagon finally had a real successor.

See Also[]

Eiffelcitro
CITROËN

PSA Peugeot Citroën


Peugeot | Citroën | Gefco | Motaquip


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One-Off: U55 Cityrama Currus


Iran Khodro · Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile · Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile · Sevel


André Citroën Corporate website A division of Peugeot-Citroen PSA


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