Citroën eCV Concept Car Is Undergoes A New Transformation Into Iconic Citroën 2CV

This project wants to bring back the iconic Citroën 2CV (Chevaux Vapeur) into our modern world. In 1949, Citroën introduced the 2CV, now, 70 years later, Martin Hajek re-imagines all-electric, self-driving Citroën eCV, a 21st-century make-over. Even though this is not the first attempt to bring that classic car into this century just like Citroën’s own attempt in 2007, it still leaves a lot of room for imagination.

The inspiration came to Martin Hajek when he visited Paris, it occurred to him that this French capital didn’t have really a taxi icon like a black cab of London or the iconic yellow cabs of New York. So why can’t Citroën become this icon?

With electric cars and autonomous driving becoming a common thing, there are many car manufacturers start to bring their classic designs to this century such as Smart Vision EQ ForTwo, Honda Urban EV, or Peugeot e-Legend.

Citroën’s eCV concept car replaces that traditional dashboard with a digital version, it also has smaller headlamps, and replaces side mirrors with tiny cameras. Overall, it actually looks like a cartoon car, what do you think?

The Citroën Ami One Concept Is a Tiny City Car That Doesn't Require a License

• - French automaker Citroën, which has distinguished itself throughout its history with futuristic designs and wild concepts, will show this "urban mobility concept" in Geneva in March.
  
• - The Ami One concept is an electric two-seater meant to embody some of the spirit of the automaker's classic 2CV.
  
• - It's tiny—almost eight inches shorter than the Smart Fortwo—and has its own Siri-style voice assistant to make it useful for urban ride-sharing.

The year 2019 marks the 100th birthday of innovative French automaker Citroën, and to celebrate, Citroën says that it is "reinventing itself and unveiling an uninhibited take on an urban mobility concept" at next month's Geneva auto show. Called the Ami One concept, it's a tiny electric city car that Citroën says evokes the spirit of the iconic 2CV, and it can be driven by anyone ages 16 and up.

This is not actually a new idea that Citroën has invented. In some countries in Europe—France being one of the pioneers—there is a class of vehicle called quadricycles, which are able to be driven by 16-year-olds (or 14 in France) that don't have a full driver's license. An extremely small amount of training is required to be approved to drive them—amounting to a few hours in a classroom, a few hours on the road, and an exam—but that's all waived if you were born before 1988. Such cars, like the existing Renault Twizy, are limited to a top speed of just 28 mph, and they can't be driven on major roads or highways.

When we say that the Ami One is tiny, we mean it. At just 98.4 inches long, it's 7.7 inches shorter than a Smart Fortwo. The exterior design of the Ami One is as wacky as you would expect from Citroën, with a cube-shaped body, a roll-back canvas roof, a two-tone orange-and-black finish with tinted glass, and lots of futuristic detailing. The doors, fenders, bumpers, door mirrors, side sills, head- and taillights, and more are all identical components to save money and reduce complexity. This means the doors are hinged on opposite sides, and they unlock via a QR code on the handles.