Citroen AMI ONE Concept revealed

Citroen has marked its 100th year of car-making and innovation by releasing the Citroen AMI ONE concept: the first of two prototypes that outline its vision of the future.

The new pure-electric urban vehicle is less a car and more of an alternative for bikes, scooters and public transport, the French car-maker says. As such, the tiny two-seat Citroen AMI ONE is created specifically for car sharing schemes.

Broadening its appeal, the zero-emission, 2.5-metre long Citroen AMI ONE exploits some European rules that allow drivers over the age of 16 to pilot it without a driver's licence.

If ever pushed into production, customers can use an app to rent the AMI ONE from anything from five minutes to five hours. Logon online to reserve the cheeky little city car and you can have it from five days to five months or, even, five years.

Once behind the wheel, the AMI ONE is powered by a small electric motor that drives the rear wheels and provides it with a top speed of just 45km/h but a decent urban range of 100km.

Placing a lithium-ion battery pack stored under the floor, the little AMI ONE can be charged using a public charger or wallbox, with a full charge taking just two hours.

On the move, the AMI ONE concept emits a sound to unwitting pedestrians that is claimed to mimic a blend of male and female voices singing.

Weighing less than 425kg, measuring 200mm shorter than a Smart ForTwo and standing 1.5-metres tall, designers have given the AMI ONE a cuboid body.

Despite its tiny size, the small Citroen city car sports large 18-inch wheels.

If you're wondering about those doors, Citroen says they're identical on the right and left, hence why they open in different directions, with the rear-hinged driver door said to offer better access to the interior.

Simplifying the design and presumably reducing cost, the front and rear of the AMI ONE share identical parts; ditto the side panels. Only the front and rear windows are different, in Citroen's pursuit to use common parts.

Created to live in a tough urban environment, all the parts are claimed be robust and easy to assemble.

Around town, Citroen says the AMI-ONE is highly agile and, naturally, simple to park in the tiniest of spots.

Inside, the AMI ONE is claimed to be 100 per cent connected with your smartphone and on the move even offers a Siri-style on-board assistant that uses voice commands.

Instead of a usual instrument panel there's a small 5.0-inch screen that displays the speed, indicators and other necessary info on the move.

Sadly for those bored of the bus and fed up of cooking in the sun or getting caught in the rain, there's not any current plans to push the AMI ONE into production. But tellingly, Citroen has reportedly said if it was green-lit, a real-world version could be introduced within the next year or two.

Originally, it was hoped one of the two concepts made by Citroen for its 100th birthday would be a replacement for the legendary 2CV.

Manual fold-back canvas roof aside, the car-maker says its latest AMI ONE isn't a spiritual successor but an attempt to capture the freedom of movement the original provided when it began rolling off the production line in 1948.