French cars were known for elegance and forward-looking technology right from the car's infancy. One of the car brands that contributed to this was Citroën.
Citroën's history up to Ami 6
The story began in 1919 when André Citroën started his own car factory. With good experience from other industrial production and several study visits to other car manufacturers in the USA, everything fell into place and the first model was launched in 1919. It was very well received as it was both solid and well equipped and gave car buyers good value for money. New models were launched at the same time as Citroën, as one of the first car manufacturers, built out a large dealer network. The result was that the factory became France's largest car manufacturer already 10 years after its start. But the expansion came at a cost and new capital-strong owners had to step in to remedy the critical situation. It helped, and the newly developed Traction Avant model could be put into production. The model was in production right up to 1957. In 1948, the new small model 2 CV came out which became a favorite among those who wanted an affordable and uncomplicated car. The DS19 was a car that was way ahead of its time when it arrived in 1955. In 1961, the small model Ami 6 came on the market. It was a small family car with a rather peculiar appearance thanks to the slanted rear window.
Exceptional driving comfort
The model was partly a further development of the Citroën 2CV. It had a separate chassis and an advanced suspension system that gave the Ami 6 exceptional ride comfort. In the advanced system, the front and rear wheels on each side were connected together. When a front wheel hit a bump in the road, the rear wheel on the same side was pushed down to counteract oscillations. From tests in 1962, the driving comfort was described as "outstanding". Comfort was also there for the driver and passengers. The seats were exceptionally soft and the car had 4 doors that gave easy access to the compartment. Since this was a car with a small, air-cooled engine, it was not a car for cold climates.
Was produced for 17 years
The Citröen Ami was produced in several variants between 1961 and 1978. Some models also came with a larger engine.
Technical data Citroën Ami 6:
Length: 392 cm
Width: 152 cm
Height: 144 cm
Top speed: 106 km/h
Engine: 602 ccm, 24 hp
See
Anders de Lange
Anders de Lange writes about car history. He has written about cars and car history for over 30 years, published his own books and written for the Norwegian car press.
