The French always had their own way of doing things, including cars. The Citroen DS, Peugeot 504, and Renault 4 come to mind as some of the most offbeat examples of their glorious automotive industry. The 2016 Bee-Bee XS is the newest oddball to come from the land of the Franks and it polarized public opinion at the Geneva Motor Show.
This cutesy little rascal is a modern and original take on the Citroen Mehari. As I’m sure you already know, the Mehari is an off-road two-door cabriolet SUV based on the Dyane 6 and 2CV6. Elvis drove a yellow one in a TV special from 1973 and Bill Murray drove one in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. And the list doesn’t end here.
But let’s get back to the Bee-Bee XS thingy and analyze what’s what. Back in 2013, Bee-Bee was a start-up project that made ends meet by attracting automotive supplier VT2i and engineering outfit Beta Epsilon. The result of their joint effort is the XS, an electric car with a canvas roof that weighs about 1,455 pounds (660 kilograms).
Described by the company as being “le vehicule electrique de tourisme le plus performant et le plus leger du marche” (~the most efficient and lightest electric resort vehicle on the market), this adorable thing is motivated by a mid-mounted electric motor that offers 20 kW of power at full throttle. The electric juice is fed to it from a 9.6 kWh lithium-ion battery, translating into a range of 68 miles (110 kilometers) and a full recharge that takes up to 4 hours.
So how much does Bee-Bee want for an XS in France? After applying the €6,300 government incentive for electric cars, you’ll be looking at €21,180, a grand less than a Renault Zoe. In U.S. dollars, that’ll be a grand away from a 2016 Ford Mustang V6 Fastback ($24,145). It’s hideously expensive, alright, but then again, it’s cooler than a golf cart.
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
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