Kultmobil prototype for sale - Citroën E-Mehari

Only rarely do prototypes and pre-series vehicles get into the hands of collectors. The Citroën E-Mehari prototype for sale in France is an exception. It is in theory a case for an enthusiast or collector who should practically own a few acres of land. Or at least a private dune landscape. Because this E-Mehari prototype will not be approved for public use.

A Mehari is a legend

The Citroën E-Mehari was a joint project between Citroën and the French Bolloré group. Citroën provided the concept and design, and Bolloré provided the technology platform. Based on the Bluesummer by Bolloré, the PSA Group produced the E-Mehari from 2016.

It was about nothing less than reviving a legend.

It was inspired by the Mehari, an open, puristic fun and cult vehicle with a plastic body that Citroën built largely unchanged from 1968 for almost 20 years. Driving in a Mehari wasn't just for fun. The Mehari could also be an official car. Fire brigades, police and army rely on the Mehari as well as the jet set society in Saint Tropez.

Almost 145.000 copies were made, some of them even with all-wheel drive. Citroën celebrated them with humor, had them photographed on mountains and assumed that they had the best off-road properties. As in the published promotional photo. An easy-going leisure company conquers a mountain on the Mehari 4x4 while a mountaineer scrambles to the top with rope and proper gear. As they say in Bavaria.

Engine power seems to have been sufficient at the time. The boxer engine of the 2CV worked under the plastic hood, the power of which was sufficient for the vehicle, which weighed only around 500 kilograms.

The revival of the cult flopped

Smaller quantities of the E-Mehari, which was intended to revitalize the cult of the past, were planned from the start. A maximum of 3.500 copies should roll off the assembly lines in Rennes per year, but it is unclear whether the number was ever reached. The first major revision took place in 2018, the end in 2019 and Citroën declared that it wanted to build electric cars on its own platform in the future.

Perhaps it was the price and the fact that the E-Mehari remained a rudimentary car despite a curb weight of 1.5 tons. With a basic price of around €25.000 plus monthly battery rental, the customers probably had different ideas than the decision-makers at Citroën.

Electric motorsports for image maintenance didn't help either, the revival of the cult was a flop.

In France, 3 phase 2 E-Mehari prototypes are now available Sales (Sold). Without battery, of course, and interested parties can choose between different states of preservation. The price for the E-Mehari prototype is low, a part of Citroën brand history is said to cost only between €1.500 and €2.500.

Of course, the possible uses are limited if you don't just want to park the Citroën in a collection. Even with a battery, none of the E-Mehari would get very far. All copies lack the VIN, registration is impossible. In effect, the only alternative that remains is one's own private dune landscape.

With images of Citroën Communication (4) and Leboncoin (2)