Going into the Sixties, the decision makers at Citroen were becoming increasingly convinced that demand for the 2CV would begin to wane.

After all, the “ no frills” workhorse had been in production since the end of the neteen Forties, making it

only logical that its days were numbered. To hedge their bets just a little, Citroen came up with an alternative, the Ami 6 initially available as a four-door sedan.

In 1964 Citroën released the estate version of the Ami 6 which had much more conventional lines than the saloon version.

The Ami 6 was scheduled to be the first Citroen produced at the company’s new and ultra-advanced production unit situated near the town of Rennes La Janais in Brittany.

Initial comments from the French motoring media regarding the Ami 6 saloon was that Citroen had succeeded in coming up with a model that was just as unconventional in appearance, a cross between the 2CV, its much more massive stablemate, the DS and the Anglia from Ford UK.

Powered by a flat twin 602cc (37 cu in) engine, according to speculation at the time, Citroën had come up with Ami to counteract the anticipated arrival of the Renaults 4, which was aimed to take a bite out of Citroen’s phenomenal market share of the “ workhorse” market.

At the start of 1961, Citroen didn’t have a truly “ midrange” car on offer, with the Ami intended to fill that gap.

The only Citroen models were the high-end DS, the low-end 2CV, the HY van, and the recently released Bijou which had failed to attract the sales that Citroen were hoping for.

The Ami’s platform chassis and suspension were very similar to the 2CV, being independent all round using leading and trailing arms and coil springs.

Interior trim on the Ami was undoubtedly a compromise between the Spartan trim of the 2CV and the comfortable fittings find in the DS.

The Ami’s upholstery were certainly an improvement on those found in the 2CV, not only that but that was also easily removable, and could readily be used as picnic chairs on family outings.

Ironically, the Citroen Ami 6 remained in production from 1966 to 1969 replaced by the Ami 8 which ran on for a further eight years, were jointly outlived by the 2CV which remained in production until 1990.

To their credit both the Ami 6 and Ami 8 sold over one million models each.