Back in the 1960’s, Citroën thought about prolonging the 2CV’s success somehow and figured a lightweight, small, four-wheel-drive car would be perfect for the job. It was called “Mehari.”
A “Méhari” is a one-humped camel (also known as dromedary) used by the French Army cavalry back when the French were busy colonizing Northern Africa. The Citroën Mehari’s benign looks wouldn’t have you believe it, but the original car actually got an army conversion, so the connection in its name isn’t so far-fetched after all.
The modern E-Mehari won’t see any of that. The new car is all about fun, and to make matters worse for anyone in uniform who might be watching, it’s an electric vehicle with a top speed of 110 km/h (68 mph) and 200 km (124 miles) maximum range. Those are not the type of numbers that make generals happy.
They don’t make that many of us civilians burst with joy either, but just look at that design. Citroën is back on the right pill and managed to fuse the old Mehari with the new C4 Cactus perfectly to create the ideal holiday car. Presuming you either don’t drive more than 200 kilometers on your holiday or you mostly frequent beaches with charging stations.
The E-Mehari was somewhat previewed by the Cactus M concept Citroën brought to Frankfurt this year - if not in shape, then at least in spirit. The actual E-Mehari is considerably smaller than the Cactus, measuring 3,810 mm (150 inches) in length, 1,650 mm (65 inches) in height, and 1,870 mm (74 inches) in width.
Citroën is very well aware that not a lot of private customers will be interested in the E-Mehari, so it’s mostly marketing the new car on a business-to-business basis. It says that hotels and resorts would make the ideal buyers, allowing them to offer their clients the ideal means of transportation around the premises. The E-Mehari isn’t expected to lift Citroën’s sales quota, but to act as an image vector instead.
The car is scheduled to first become available in France next spring, with the rest of Europe getting the chance to enjoy silent, open-air rides before the end of the year. Given the nature of the car, Citroën might want to hurry a little and have it ready before the summer ends.
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