DOSSIER

CITROEN

MY AMI BUGGY CONCEPT

The Citroën My Ami Buggy Concept is the realization, free and full of personality, of an object imagined to enjoy leisure in a different way. An adventurous vehicle idea with an extroverted, colorful and muscular design without losing sight of simplicity and functionality. Citroën's teams imagined this Ami without compromises, thinking of all those looking for an object with a strong personality, electric, easy to use and with an incredible character.

The Citroën My Ami Buggy Concept is an invitation for all those who seek to enjoy independent mobility, during their journeys on the roads and along the coastal paths, to put themselves in the shoes of authentic explorers. My Ami Buggy Concept imagines a recreational object for weekends, holidays on the coast or country breaks, but one that will also seduce due to its practical aspect. A model that, thanks to its electric traction mode, will travel without noise and emissions, an electric pleasure enhanced by the absence of doors to enjoy the movement immersed in the environment and bathed in light thanks to the panoramic roof.

“The My Ami Buggy Concept is a proposal that matches the spirit of Ami, moving away from the conventional vehicle. We look for inspiration in the world of construction games for a playful and functional approach, industrial design for ergonomics and aesthetics that include everyday objects (furniture, lights, etc.) and fashion accessories (sneakers, sporting goods , glasses, etc.). For example, the camera and smartphone mounts, with simple shapes, are inspired by the work of designers who created essential and timeless consumer objects during the second half of the last century. The My Ami Buggy Concept is minimalist and functional, simple, in the purest style of contemporary iconic industrial objects”, said Samuel Pericles, Designer of My Ami Buggy

A robust exterior design by definition...Situated on its four wheels, the My Ami Buggy has an unmistakably adventurous character, underlined both front and rear by its bumpers, bezels and headlight shields, with 'chevrons' ' located in the center. On the sides, the widened and redesigned fenders and the tubular protections at the bottom of the doors give more vigor to its profile. On the roof, the bars and the spare wheel reinforce the concept's adventurous spirit. All these elements display the black tone.

The LED light bar, located at the front of the roof, brings a spirit of adventure to face the night or the fog. When the car is stationary, everything evokes a 'campfire' atmosphere thanks to the light provided by the aforementioned bar and the music from the portable speaker.

The doors give their space to transparent waterproof fabrics that can be fitted in bad weather in a clear nod to Méhari. These use a zipper to close the cabin and have an opening at the top that resembles the glazed doors of classic vehicles. These practical protections can be removed, rolled up and stored behind the seats in dedicated spaces. A visor was installed above the windshield, continuing the roof to provide protection from adverse weather. Furthermore, in the summer it provides shade when the sun is at its highest. The wide 'mud' tires and their matte gold wheels allow good grip on all types of roads and increase stability while improving the object's appearance. Despite being a free design, the stylists kept the concept's realism and effectiveness. Fixing some elements was a challenge for technicians who, on occasion, had to anchor them directly to the tubular chassis in order to secure them solidly. This is the case of the bumpers and the spare wheel that goes over the roof.

Colors and materials that define the spirit of the concept ...The My Ami Buggy Concept uses three colors: black, khaki and yellow. The black, inspired by the camping material, reinforces the vehicle's functional and robust character. The different shades of black - Anodized Black for the wheel arches and roof and Speckled Black on the rear - perfectly match the Anodized Khaki and Citric Yellow colors to give the ensemble an adventurous look and attention to detail.

A biton body dresses the My Ami Buggy Concept and gives it a dynamic look with an impacting effect: the Anodized Khaki at the front and the Speckled Black at the rear, a symmetry game that seeks, in addition, to clearly separate the front from the rear of the vehicle. The Anodized Khaki color is a nod to nature and black, synonymous with strength and modernity, captures the light and dramatizes the colors with which it combines. The choice of black also responds to the desire to use a dark color, which is less soiled.

Numerous key elements of My Ami Buggy Concept have been highlighted in detail in Citric Yellow. This is the case with the seats, the recharge cable, the graphic frames on the doors and all the spaces for objects and accessories. This acidic color also indicates that the elements that are painted in this way are functional.

The attention to detail...To take personalization even further, a few additional technical details enliven the whole. Grooves and stickers bring back the theme of 'chevrons', a common element in Citroën's design and which is repeated in different elements both outside and inside to give an appearance reminiscent of the Traction grille, the concept car's center console 19_19 , the lower front parts of the Ami One Concept and the design of the Ami storage spaces. On the My Ami Buggy Concept, they are visible on the outside in the wheel covers, protectors, visor, side protection plates, light strip holders, under the bumpers and at the rear of the mirrors, while in the interior decorate the accessory holders, the storage spaces and the panel.

The word 'Pilot' can be read on the roof on the driver's side, while on the opposite side appears the word 'Copilot' and, in another nod to motor sport, the number 01 appears on the driver's seat and 02 on the passenger seat for indicate the location of each of them.

Yellow arrow stickers under the bumper show the direction of the wind, in a nod to the world of aviation. In the wheel arches this same decorative element is reproduced.

A logo appears on the driver's side, at the rearview mirror, in reference to the electric motorization and the battery poles, as in the parking spaces reserved for electric vehicles.

A stylish, functional and more comfortable interior ...Three areas have been worked on with special attention in the interior of the My Ami Buggy Concept: the seats, the spaces for objects and the travel bags.

The My Ami Buggy Concept has new Advanced Comfort seat cushions whose foam goes from 35 mm on the Ami to 70 mm. Combined with a viscoelastic foam, the result is both thin and soft. They can be easily disassembled and are interchangeable and washable. Its production, which consists of assembling two structures one above the other, is inspired by the design of a lifeguard and recalls the world of beach accessories.

Storage compartments are ingenious and portable. Each one has its function inside the cabin, but can be taken outside as part of a picnic or an excursion.

The dashboard storage compartments, accessories already available on My Ami, were redesigned specifically for the My Ami Buggy Concept. A matte gold screen was fixed on top of each one to prevent objects deposited on them from moving.

A line of specific luggage was created whose parts fit perfectly inside the vehicle. The fanny pack fits through a magnet in the center of the steering wheel, where there is a space with the same shape, and can be worn around the waist using a buckle. A bag with a flap can be placed in the panel space, which on the Ami allows you to carry a cabin suitcase. At the base, a tubular structure supports it to prevent it from moving.

A storage space was also built into the doors, at the height of the seats to leave all kinds of objects or a large collapsible bag, whose dimensions match the space provided and which can be opened from the inside to store everyday objects. A fun push-button lets you open the central locking of doors that open, like on the Ami, in the opposite direction.

The recharging cable, on the other hand, is fixed to the passenger door frame thanks to a wing-shaped element that facilitates its handling.

New Aesthetic and Functional Accessories...The My Ami Buggy Concept accessories are not just a design exercise, but have a real function. The designers put themselves in the shoes of fans of all kinds of leisure outings and imagined objects for the displacements on board the My Ami Buggy Concept that are, at the same time, attractive and functional.

The development of the interior parts was designed so that the manipulation of objects was very intuitive. Thus, the rotary knobs that serve to hold objects or to make adjustments were used in different places, seeking homogeneity. Its own design instinctively suggests how it works. The fixing mechanisms of numerous accessories that were developed according to the same size, are transversal and, as a result, detachable, and can be placed in different places in the cabin as if it were an assembly kit.

This is the case, for example, of the support that allows a photographic camera to be fixed, essential to immortalize and immediately share the important moments of the trip and the landscapes that are crossed. Equipped with a universal screw that allows the assembly of all types of apparatus, it can be retracted thanks to a release trigger integrated in the part and can, therefore, be placed in any of the four fastening points located on the vertical door frames. driver and passenger.

The external mirrors, which can be adjusted thanks to the hinge integrated in the fixing device, fit into the spaces provided in the door pillars. They are also mobile.

The smatphone clip developed for My Ami and located to the right of the driver's seat, converts the My Ami Buggy Concept into a cylindrical design support that integrates a rotary knob on the far right of the object, which allows the device to be supported. The owner's first and last name can be engraved on the tube, an extra that many will appreciate.

Another tapered mount is designed to secure the portable speaker in the rounded space that exists for this purpose in the dashboard, behind the steering wheel.

From idea to reality there is no more than one step with a 3D printer. Each of the objects was developed in an original way, as they have the particularity of being printed in 3D and, therefore, they are freely reproducible.

My Ami Buggy Concept is, above all, an invitation to have fun and responds to the thirst for freedom, leisure and anti-conformism. A design study that many wish they could include in their letter to the Three Wise Men, the My Ami Buggy Concept illustrates one of the multiple faces that Ami may have, the atypical mobility object developed by Citroën, ready to explore new territories

Autonews