It has its lovers and its haters, and while I fall into the former camp, I have to admit that the jeopardy of knowing it could be a massive flop in so many ways only adds to its appeal.
I’m talking, of course, about the oh-so polarising Citroën Ami, the most ridiculous yet charming vehicle to have been launched in recent times and, potentially, one of the most significant for its singularity of purpose.
To recap, this wannabe Dinky Toy has 8bhp, a top speed of 28mph and space for two people. It's technically a quadricycle, not a car, and offers substantially reduced crash protection as a result.
So dedicated to the art of reductionism is it that its door handles are fabric cords and one of its doors is rear-hinged so that the panels can be swapped side to side or fore and aft.
Many is the time you will peer through the window looking for the steering wheel to get your bearings, lest you try to get in not just on the wrong side but also pointing in the wrong direction.
So it is that in so many respects, the Ami looks and feels like its price tag (around £6000: £2500 plus £20 per month or 25p per mile) suggests it should. (Although some rational souls will argue even here that you could have a lot of second-hand car for those figures).
But the point isn't the hard plastics, cramped conditions or pedestrian top speed. The point is that they're all packaged in something that's truly greater than the sum of its parts, quirky, fun and unapologetically designed, charming enough to make you smile and with a sense of distilled utility (short urban hops) that it delivers with oodles of fun but really no frippery. Nobody needs an Ami - but lots of us want one.
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I've written it before, but I still think Renault were onto a better idea with the Twizy but has just not bothered to promote or develop it properly. The format is better, having passengers sit behind so that the thing is narrower and can slip more easily between gaps in city traffic. Essentially, in my view, it has better range and performance which might perhaps explain its much higher price despite not having proper weather protection or heating.
I'd probably like it more if every one I've seen wasn't in that naff matt grey paint 'finish'.
29mph top speed assumes that the city for which this car is designed is always cogested. Which is not the case. In London, for example, you can't even use it on the A40M Westway.