The 60th anniversary of the Citroën AMI 6
- Citroën presents on April 24, 1961 to the press AMI 6 which will be produced in its new factory in Rennes (France). First launched as a saloon, it was the estate version that was the most successful with 550,000 sales out of the total million Ami 6 units produced until 1971.
- This is the model launched by Citroën to complete its range made up of 2 CV, D’ID and DS. Its stylist, to whom we already owe the lines of the Traction Avant as well, considers it his masterpiece!
- With its unforgettable inverted rear window, it marked the 1960s with its silhouette called ‘Ligne Z’.
« This model is in no way intended to replace the 2 CV from which it differs completely (…) » the Citroën press release of 1961 may have surprised at the time as much as the shape of the Ami 6! This « great little car », with its small size for a large habitability will however impose itself, beyond its unique silhouette, with more than a million copies produced, of which more than half in station wagon version, arrival in 1964.
Citroën AMI 6, a unique look with its Z roof/strong>
After having designed the Traction Avant, the 2 CV and the DS with the team of the Citroën style office, Flaminio Bertoni was entrusted with the creation of the design of a mid-range car called Project AM. From this came the Ami 6, his masterpiece. Because the stylist can express himself fully and without the intervention of anyone else impose his ideas for the style of this car. Design features such as the inverted rear window which remains clean when it rains, which also allows to keep boot of large capacity with classic opening and a space in the rear seats, all in reduced dimensions overall. The 602 cc twin-cylinder engine is evolved from that of the 2 CV. Large rectangular headlights (a first at the time), to its plunging bonnet in the central part, to its pagoda roof and to its sides underlined by stamped lines, the Ami 6 shows , a strong personality, a ‘baroque style’ even judged by some observers! The Ami 6 is not content to surprise aesthetically. It also innovates in terms of marketing by presenting itself on advertising documents as ‘the second ideal car for Madame’.
The interior of the Ami 6 is directly inspired by that of the DS. From its single-spoke steering wheel, it’s door handles, it’s controls and to it’s seats, everything is reminiscent of the top of the range Citroën.
On the handling side, everyone hails the sedan’s handling and flexibility inherited from the famous suspensions of the 2 CV. From its birth, in keeping with the Citroën spirit, the Ami 6 was an original and innovative car. It’s fans retained a particular interest in the Club versions with four headlights and white-side hubcaps marketed from September 1967.
The Ami 6’s emblematic advertising slogan remains “the cheapest comfort per kilometre in the world”.
The Ami 6 break, the fifth door to success
The essential turning point was marked, at the end of 1964, by the arrival of a small station wagon or estate (320 kg payload) designed by Henri Dargent (assistant to Flaminio Bertoni) and by Robert Opron (successor to Bertoni, who died in 1964). It will boost sales and supplant the saloon. It’s design gave buyers a large load volume for a passenger vehicle in this category, and easy and practical access. Versatile, it allows a family to go on a trip in considerable comfort, but also allows professional use for a traveling salesman or even a craftsman.
The Ami 6 then established itself as the favourite car of the French in 1966. The production of the saloon ended in March 1969, six months before the station wagon was discontinued, in favour of the new, less atypical Ami 8 which found a back in the “right” direction. The latter will give way to the Visa in 1978.
Citroën Ami 6, did you know?
- The name Ami 6 comes from a phonetic mix that plays on the name of the Etudes project (AM vehicle), the word miss (“miss” in English) and amici (“friend” in Italian), probably inspired by its stylist , Flaminio Bertoni, who was Italian.
- Yvonne de Gaulle, the wife of General de Gaulle, drove an Ami 6. He had inaugurated the Citroën factory in Rennes-La-Janais while it was still under construction on September 10, 1960, a little over a year before its production started on site.
- A rally called Le Tour de Gaule d’Amisix was organized by Citroën from Rennes-La-Janais on January 19, 1966 with two standard Ami 6 station wagons to demonstrate its endurance and road qualities. On arrival, 23h11mn later and under bailiff control, the team has covered 2077 km at an average of 89.6 km/h.
- A total of 1,039,384 Ami 6 units were produced: 483,986 Berline (April 1961 to March 1969), 551,880 Estate (October 1964 to September 1969), 3,518 Entreprise (two-seater station wagon, glazed and panel versions).
- At the Citroën Conservatory, you can admire three Ami 6s: a 1963 sedan, a 1965 sedan and a 1969 station wagon.
- Spare parts are available for the Ami on our websites: www.pieces-de-rechange-classic.com et www.neoretroclassic.com
