DS - the luxury brand originally spun off from Citroen and named after the immortal 1955 Citroen DS - is going through something of a reinvention right now. The marque is about to embark on a whole new model lineup, and the first hint of what’s to come are these images of a camouflaged prototype.
Why is there a massive number 750 on the side?
That’s because this is an all-electric DS, not the first such model that the brand has made - that would be the DS3 E-Tense - but the first to be based on the Stellantis Group’s versatile new STLA architecture. That chassis is already in service under the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008, and the Opel Grandland. The number 750 refers to the car’s maximum range on one charge, while the black-and-gold colour scheme is taken from the DS Formula-E electric racing team.
Clearly, with that kind of 750km range, this new car - the name of which DS is still redacting on the official press release, complete with espionage-style black bars across the text - is using the largest 98kWh battery pack available in the STLA platform, which gives the slightly taller E-3008 a 700km one-charge range.
What else do we know about this new DS?
Precious little, only that it will probably - redactions apart - be called the DS8. It’s also a car with which DS says it wants to set about “changing the shape of cars in the SUV class.” It’s lower slung, and more like a fastback, albeit a relatively tall one, in its overall shape.
While it’s all still TBC, the Peugeot E-3008 uses a single 210hp front-drive electric motor, or can be had with an optional 322hp two-motor, four-wheel-drive setup. It’s possible that DS will use a higher power output, to differentiate it from the mainstream brands.
It does look pretty sleek
Yup, and DS has at least confirmed that the drag coefficient is a slippery 0.24, which is impressive and doubtless contributes to that lengthy range. Helping that are active air intakes set into the bumper which can open for cooling purposes, or close to make the new DS more aerodynamics.
We’ll find out more when the DS [Redacted] is revealed in full before the end of the year.