Mat Watson and Jodie Kidd recently drag raced four extremely slow cars in the quarter mile on a rather wet runway. The slowest of the bunch comes in the form of the Ami, which isn't even considered as being a car.
Citroen resurrected this nameplate for an electric quadricycle in 2020. Between 1961 and 1978, the original Ami totaled a whopping 1,840,396 vehicles. Manufactured in Morocco rather than France, the front-wheel-drive electric quadricycle features a small battery pack that powers a 6-kW motor. That's 8 metric horsepower and 8 mechanical horsepower, which makes the Trabant 601 seem like a supercar by comparison.
Top speed is a lethargic 28 miles per hour (45 kilometers per hour), and the 5.5-kWh battery enables a WLTP-rated driving range of 46 miles (74 kilometers). The Ami, however, is very light at 471 kilograms (1,038 pounds). The second-lightest vehicle on the runway is the Kia Picanto, a small hatchback designed primarily for the urban jungle. It weighs 933 kilograms (2,057 pounds), and its three-cylinder engine produces a rather pedestrian 66 horsepower and 71 pound-feet (96 Nm).
Next up, the red-painted hatchback with crossover-infused styling is called Aygo X. The Japanese model tips the scales at 945 kilograms (2,083 pounds) and produces a few more ponies than the Picanto, to the detriment of peak torque. As for the final entry, the green-painted SUV is a body-on-frame affair from Japan. The Suzuki Jimny is currently sold exclusively as a two-seat commercial vehicle in the European Union and the United Kingdom due to emission regulations.
Equipped with all-terrain rubber boots, the Jimny is a bit porky compared to the other three contestants, at 1,100 kilograms (2,425 pounds). On the upside, it's the only vehicle of the lot with a four-cylinder engine, albeit a naturally-aspirated mill capable of developing 100 horsepower and 96 pound-feet (130 Nm) at the crank.
With Mat Watson in the Aygo X and Jodie Kidd in the Picanto, the first race kicks off with a great start for the South Korean hatchback. Be that as it may, the 'Yota passes it by the finish line, clocking 20.2 seconds in the quarter mile. The Jimny was just behind with a similar elapsed time, whereas the Picanto needed 20.3 clicks.
The Citroen? How about 38 seconds to complete the standing quarter mile? The Ami is extremely slow from a rolling start as well. The first rolling start race starts at 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour) in second gear for the ICE vehicles, of which the Aygo X proved the quickest in the half mile. The second race begins at 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour) in third gear, and it's a tie between the Picanto and Jimny.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News