Citroën Ami 8 - Almost bourgeois

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Citroën Ami 8 - Almost bourgeois

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Created on April 6, 2023

Text:

Paul Krüger

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Bruno von Rotz

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Archiv Radical Mag / Peter Ruch

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Archiv

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - The door skins and rear fenders are unchanged from the Ami 6, but thanks to the hatchback and smoothed front, the Ami 8 looks much more modern

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - This dirt road is already unusually smooth. The Ami 8's comfortable chassis makes it even smoother for the occupants.

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - For cost reasons, the Ami 8 was fitted with simple rectangular headlights. The chrome bezels show the original shape

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - As a concession to the payload, the Ami 8 stretches its butt upwards

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - Like its big sister DS, the rear wheels are partially covered

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - Little luxury: even as a meagre "Break Service", the Ami 8 comes with hubcaps as standard

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - the double angle was only added in the summer of 1970. Robert Opron had simply forgotten in the rush of the design

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - instead of individual warts like the Ami 6, the eight has trapezoidal rear lights

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - 6 becomes 8. The number does not refer to the engine capacity in deciliters, but to the number of windows

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - The dashboard is as simple as can be. The huge air vents are as effective as they look

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - the Ami 8 inherits the single-spoke steering wheel from the DS

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - Speed, fuel level and charging current are monitored by pointer. High beam, indicators and oil pressure via light

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - Playful door opener with turn-and-push function 30 years before BMW

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - The 602-cubic-inch two-cylinder engine with 32 hp comes unchanged from the Ami 6

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - The boxer is hidden under the air filter, spare wheel and heating hoses. There is still room for an oil can on the left

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - The starter crank is a (very useful) relic from the early 2-CV days

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - although it took far less getting used to than its predecessor, the Ami 8 was still not considered pretty

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Citroën Ami 8 (1971) - "La Missis" already had the reinforcing beading in the flank

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Citroën Ami 8 (1970) - also suitable for forest excursions thanks to its excellent chassis

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Citroën Ami 8 (1970) - Model from the first six months of production without the double angle in the grille

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Citroën Ami 8 (1970) - Side view of an early model in the color "Bouton d'Or"

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Citroën Ami 8 (1970) - four doors will have to do. A large tailgate was only available for the estate car

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Citroën Ami 8 (1970) - Are those tail fins? Slightly overhanging fenders next to the sloping roof

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Citroën Ami 8 (1970) - Interior between 2CV and DS: sparse but elegant, including a wonderfully contemporary seat pattern

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Citroën Ami 8 (1969) - the special roof was lost on the successor to the Ami 6

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Citroën Ami 8 (1969) - originally only intended as a model upgrade of the Ami 6, as the lettering shows

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Citroën Ami 8 (1969) - World premiere of the Berline in a new design with modified front - Geneva Motor Show 1969

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Citroën Ami 8 (1969) - in the tulip field - Geneva Motor Show 1969

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Citroën Ami 8 (1969) - the only new model in the price category up to 7000 francs, replaces the Ami 6 - Geneva Motor Show 1969

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Citroen Ami 8 - estate cars with economical engines are particularly popular in France - shown at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show

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Citroën Ami Super (1973) - the 1-liter engine from the GS ensures spirited performance in the lightweight Ami - at the 1973 Geneva Motor Show

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Citroën M 35 (1970) - Wankel engine prototype that looks similar to the Ami 8, but has little to do with it.

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Citroën Ami 6 (1961) - Even the French found this shape too bizarre at the end of the sixties

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Citroën Ami 6 Break (1961) - Technically, the Ami 8 is largely identical to it

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Summary

Originally only intended as a quick emergency solution, the Citroën Ami 8 remained in the range for almost ten years. With a more mass-market look than the Ami 6 and unchanged outstanding comfort, it seemed to be the perfect compromise. However, it was already too ordinary for most Citroën fans, but still too Citroën for everyone else. In this article, we tell the story of the Citroën Ami 8 and its muscular brother, the Ami Super, and show that it is not always easy to please everyone.

This article contains the following chapters

Double angles and cookies
Spacious, comfortable, lame
Super-Extra
Successful emergency solution

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The boss's extravagances almost cost Citroën its head. Instead of taking care of the necessary modernization of the lower model range, Pierre Bercot preferred to sink millions of francs into the takeover of Maserati, a luxury coupé that was as extravagant as it was complicated, and an ambitious Wankel engine project. What was left over for the development department was almost completely eaten up by "Project G", the future mid-range between the DS and Ami 6. Unfortunately, "La Missis" was also in urgent need of a refresh. The appearance in particular, which had already caused controversy at its debut in 1961, was increasingly criticized. The Citroën sculptor and DS designer Flaminio Bertoni, who died in 1964, had always considered the Ami 6 to be his best design - an opinion that was shared by fewer and fewer customers. So few, in fact, that by 1968 only 20 percent of sales were accounted for by the saloon with its idiosyncratic "Ligne Z", while the rest opted for the conventionally steep-sided estate. The Citroën sales department therefore insisted that the most urgent change to the new American saloon was a rear end that was more suitable for the masses. Pierre Bercot had previously only requested a smoothed front end.

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