Citroën Ami rolls over in world-famous hairpin bend
The Citroën Ami is a small city car that is built very cheaply and simply. Although the EV isn’t really fast, one driver managed to overturn the car at Monaco’s world-famous hairpin.
You may know the hairpin from Formula 1 and it’s called the Grand Hotel hairpin. The corner is the slowest on the street circuit.
Citroën Ami rolls over in world-famous hairpin bend
So if you drive a Citroën Ami through the world-famous hairpin bend, you shouldn’t drive too fast. The cube-shaped car can then tip over. Taking the uphill corner was fine, but the sharp turn at full speed downhill caused problems.
Multiple videos online show the driver being taken to the hospital by ambulance. He is said to have suffered minor injuries.
Although this Citroën Ami is tilted, the small electric vehicle does not tip over extremely quickly – also due to the lack of power. The driver went into the curve several times, where the wheels lifted slightly from the ground. In the end, the natural laws of the French city runabout prevail and the car lies on its side.
It’s not about power
The Citroën Ami reaches a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour. It is driven by a 6 kW (8 hp) electric motor coupled with a battery pack with a capacity of 5.5 kWh. You can get about 75 kilometers here.
Although the Citroën Ami is not sold in the Netherlands, you can import it. That’s what Gerrit Verstraete did. His French car is mainly used by his daughter, who doesn’t yet have a driver’s license, but is already allowed to drive a scooter – and thus in the Ami.
Gerrit also has a fondness for Citroëns. You can see what it’s like to live with such an Ami in the episode of Your Garage below.