Beach car, carefree, and — if you will — ahead of its time on many ecological concepts that have since been rediscovered and revisited: lightness, recyclability, downsizing. The Citroën Mehari, introduced in 1968, was an iconic vehicle built on the legendary Dyane platform, with a thermoplastic (ABS) body and engineered to be paradropped by the French army. It weighed just 475 kg.

Its buyers were a varied and colourful public. It was used by farmers in the fields, by wealthy holidaymakers as a dune buggy, and by young city dwellers taking their first steps behind the wheel.

It became a generational symbol thanks to its all-terrain capabilities, its impertinent air, its very modest output — and fuel consumption to match — of 30 hp, and its ease of maintenance, which translated into extraordinary longevity. Citroën built 150,000 units between 1968 and 1987, and no small number of them are still on the road today, all over the world.

A carefree advertising image of the Citroën Mehari, 1970.

To call the interior of the Citroën Mehari spartan would be an understatement. Beyond the bare essentials: exposed wires, visible screws and bolts — though the central ashtray does stand out...

An Italian advertising page for the Citroën Mehari, 1980.

A French double-page advertising spread for the Citroën Mehari.

Another beautiful example of a first-generation Citroën Mehari. The Dyane-sourced lights are clearly visible here. Hopi red was only available from 1968 to 1975.

The cover of the original Citroën Mehari brochure. The full name still referenced the Dyane, the model from which it borrowed chassis parts, engine, wheels and accessories.

The dimensions of the Citroën Mehari.

A Citroën Mehari rally.

The father of the plastic used to build the Citroën Mehari: Count Roland Paulze d'Ivoy de la Poype (1920–2012). A fascinating story — the former fighter pilot who became an entrepreneur and founder of Seab, Société d'Exploitation et d'Application des Brevets.

Judging by the advertising photographs from the Citroën Mehari's launch in May 1968, the audience it was initially aimed at was quite clear...

Judging by the advertising photographs from the Citroën Mehari's launch in May 1968, the audience it was initially aimed at was quite clear...

Fidel Castro at the wheel of a Citroën Mehari.

The model exported to the USA, with American specifications.

The dashboard.

The Citroën Mehari: the view on entering the car from the driver's side.

The Citroën Mehari fully open-top. This colour, Kirghiz orange, was available from 1969.

The Citroën Mehari in one of its most iconic colours: Montana green, the only one that was available throughout the model's entire production run, from 1969 to 1987.

Thanks to its ground clearance, light weight and versatility, the Mehari could also handle (here in pick-up version, Hoggar beige) light off-road stretches.

Few people know that a 4x4 version was also produced. It was distinguishable externally by the spare wheel on the front bonnet.

The Citroën Mehari was produced, with an upgraded electrical system to power a radio, for the French army as well (here, a 1981 photograph). One tenth of the 7,000 units was used as a driving-school car.

The Citroën Mehari Azur was a limited series initially planned at 700 units, featuring a white body with blue doors, grille and hood, and fabric-upholstered seats. Its success led to it being incorporated into the standard range.

After the Azur, another special version of just 500 units was produced in 1983, reserved for the Spanish market: the Mehari Plage (beach), available only in Atacama yellow.

In 1983 this further special series was produced: Série spéciale Croisière Jeunes; it was not 4x4, despite the spare wheel on the bonnet suggesting otherwise.

The Citroën Mehari was completely demountable; here it is virtually stripped bare: no pillars, no doors, no roof.

A perfectly preserved Citroën Mehari, complete with the leather straps for fastening the front bonnet.

Many parties wanted to revive the Mehari name: here, in 2010, Swiss company Rinspeed gave it a try. This prototype was eco-friendly too: it was made of bamboo.

Citroën's marketing team has recognised the enduring power of the Mehari legacy and capitalises on it by pairing it with new models, in this case a Cactus M.

A magnificent example expertly restored by the Club de France.

The return of the Mehari

A few months ago, Citroën CEO Linda Jackson let slip that the Mehari could return in some form.

A revival conceived to give Citroën a "fun" image, in the CEO's own words. According to her, the brand's new positioning must shift towards fun cars that give people a feeling of happiness. "Maybe there's room here for the Mehari. It's something we're taking into consideration," she said at the Automotive News Europe Congress on 10 June 2015.

And so it has come to pass. The name returns to adorn a Citroën car in a kind of ideal continuity with the past, through a technological update that bets everything on sustainability.

The Citroën E-Mehari: batteries, drivetrain, performance

The drivetrain technology is the result of a collaboration with Bolloré: the LMP (Lithium Metal Polymer) batteries are solid-state and offer numerous advantages over more conventional technologies, including resistance to climatic variations and a range of 200 kilometres on the urban cycle. They charge fully in 8 hours at 16A when connected to compatible systems (home or public charging points such as those of Autolib), or in 13 hours using standard 10A domestic sockets.

The bodywork is (once again) in thermoformed plastic

The new E-Mehari will be a four-seat, cabriolet, electric crossover whose bodywork is… plastic again! Thermoformed, corrosion-resistant, it requires neither galvanising nor painting (both inherently polluting processes), and will be able to withstand minor impacts thanks to its elasticity. It will come in vivid colours and offer numerous personalisation options linked to the two colours of the fabric roof (black and orange-red) and two interior trims (beige and orange-red). The hood will close with a retractable side system, and will be openable at the front, rear, sides or completely. The rear seats are foldable, the chassis is raised to allow for some off-road pretensions. The top speed, however, could be just 110 km/h.

This too is an improvement over the original, which with its 602 cc engine struggled to reach 100 km/h.