Alex Hatfield in the UK sent us these photos of a 1967 Ami 6 he owns that has had its body transformed for what he believes to have been used in the Tour de France bicycle race.
In the hand written description that accompanied the car when purchased by Alex, it states that it was built at Citroen’s request by Chaperone Coachworks in Paris (presumably they mean Henri Chapron). It was designed as a recovery vehicle — note the handles on the front fenders, probably for cyclists hold on and get towed along. The front hood has been extensively reworked to incorporate an air-flow vent for hot slow sunny days.
We asked Noëlle Chapron of Charpon International if she can provide authentication (Noëlle is Henri Chapron’s daughter and she has all the build records of Henri Chapron Coachworks). She is pretty sure it is not a Chapron bodied effort.
We also asked Patrick van Griethuysen, an Ami restoration expert in the Netherlands, and its pedigree is also a mystery to him.
Alex says the body modifications are of a high standard. We note that the modern badge and mesh on the front are not period 1967 though these features may have been added during the purported restoration by a Citroën garage owner in the 07 Region of the Rhone Alps.
The car is a left hand drive, imported to the UK, and Alex has a reference to the original French registration number on the windshield, but that’s about it for details.
So we throw it out there — are you aware of the origin and history this Ami-6? Do you think it could be Chapron bodied? Has anyone ever seen this car before?
Please let us know, because at the moment this Ami 6 is quite a mystery that we would like to shed some light upon.
The car was recently “Living” in Yorkshire.
I’ll post the photos of it.
QA we say in England, it is a “Marmite” car – you either love it or loath it!
Just seen this post: what a fascinating car! I’m a Marmite fan, and I love all 1950s & 60s Citroens, so I guess you can put me down as a fan of this Ami, too!