Every since Citroën showed off its E-Mehari I’ve been trying to figure out what seems “off” about this car. Sure, its design blends a C4 Cactus front with cues from the original Mehari, but something about it’s specifications, lack of interior shots and the way in which no one expected it made me wonder. Well, the mystery is now solved thanks to our long-time reader Tuga…
Basically, the E-Mehari is nothing more than a re-badged Bolloré BlueSummer, an offshoot of the Bolloré Bluecar. Well, maybe I should not be so cynical, as the E-Mehari looks MUCH better than the BlueSummer, with properly resolved styling and big, chunky wheels. And given this kind of base and a limited target audience in native France, the E-Mehari suddenly makes sense – I actually applaud Citroën for having the stones to make this car at a time where most carmakers are too scared to release products that too far from the mainstream or, potentially, underdeveloped (well, except Ford’s disastrous EcoSport 🙂 The irony is that the BlueSummer, with its basic styling, is closer in in spirit to the stripped-down Mehari than the, presumably, more posh E-Mehari. Sort of like the VW Golf is much more of a “people’s car” than the retro-inspired VW New Beetle.
Here are the BlueSummer and the E-Mehari, side-by-side:
