Citroen unveil electric E-Mehari ~ station of gear

Spiritual successor to the 2CV-based Mehari is made of thermoformed plastic, but not likely to make it to the UK

2015-12-08 11:50

Citroen fans may remember the Cactus M Concept revealed a few months ago. Utilising the quirky Gallic charm that's been missing from some recent Citroens, it was a drop-top beach buggy with a waterproof interior and a plastic body - built with fun in mind. Now, Citroen have bought that concept to reality with the E-Mehari, which will be showcased in Paris from December 9th-11th.

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The E-Mehari is a result of PSA Peugeot Citroen's collaboration with the French Bollore Group, which will produce an electric car on the same platform called the Bluesummer.

There's a fair few changes made from the concept, first of which is the styling. Citroen's 'family face' with the upside-down headlight arrangement remains, and the concept's moulded plastic bodywork is present too. However the E-Mehari's been given a rather strange upright roof arrangement with B and C-pillars, which somewhat spoils the design and makes it look rather like a giant Little Tykes car. It does feature a raised ride height - but don't expect to be traversing anything remotely like an off-road course in this car.

The plastic doors remain, though the moulded 'steps' for rear passengers are gone - and conspicuous by its absence is Citroen's 'airbump' technology first featured on the C4 Cactus. The car is available in the same bright colour palette to the Cactus, though.

Inside things are a bit closer to the concept car. There's a choice of colours for the interior, which is also fully waterproof thanks to plastic-coated fabric. That could be a good thing in the event of a sudden downpour - as the roof is a manual affair, concealed in the boot. It can cover the rear, sides, or the whole vehicle - and like the interior is available in a choice of colours, either black or orange-red.

While the Cactus M Concept was powered by PSA's 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, the E-Mehari will be an electric vehicle using the same platform as the Bollore Bluesummer. This means it carries 30kW of Lithium Metal Polymer batteries, good for 124 miles of range and a top speed of 68mph - though not at the same time. It's slightly shorter than a Citroen C3, but thanks to the electric power train it weighs more than a C4 Picasso.

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The E-Mehari is likely to be on sale in France for around 25,000 Euros - before battery leasing - from Spring 2016. Customers hoping to run to the sun in a drop-top Citroen may be disappointed though, as there's currently no plans to bring this vehicle to the UK - in its electric form or a conventionally powered model.

Would you take this electric buggy down to the beach? Let us know in the comments...

Tom Wiltshire

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