DS vice-president of product, Eric Apode, confirmed the design of the BMW 5 Series rival has been signed off by company bosses. Expected to be called the DS 8, it will be the new flagship sedan for the marque in market where the popularity of traditional sedans is in decline. Undaunted, executives of PSA’s DS luxury brand feel it is imperative that the company has such a flagship model in its range, claiming that it will be on sale by 2020 and mark 65 years since the arrival of the original Citroën DS.
Eric Apode, DS Vice-president of Product.
If the preview pictures shown by Auto Express are accurate, they reveal that the DS flagship won’t be a traditional sedan.
DS 8 rendering courtesy of Auto Express and Avarvarii.
Apode says; “The design is finished and I can tell you the car looks amazing. Since the beginning it was extremely important to have this car in our range,” he said. “But we will never do a copy; DS is something different, something spectacular. With our flagship we will do that.” This suggests that it will be a large hatch with a fastback roof like the Audi A7 and Porsche Panamera. The floating roofline has been copied by many (Land Rover and Lexus to name but two) since Citroën first showed a similar design in the Numero 9 Concept back in 2012. The DS 8 appears to rely heavily on the Numero 9 Concept with a discrete lifting of style from 2017 DS 7 Crossback.
Numero 9 Concept
2017 DS 7 Crossback
And the Numero 9 concept isn’t that much different than the Peugeot HX1 concept presented at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show.
Peugeot HX1
Apode added: “When we talk about DS, we say we are the only French car maker positioned in the luxury premium sector, that we are unique in this position. Whenever we do a car we don’t start the process by saying we want to copy a car from Mercedes.”
Underpinning the flagship is expected to be the longest version of PSA Group’s EMP2 modular platform, found in the latest Peugeot 508 mid-size sedan. Conventional 2.0-litre BlueHDi diesels and 1.6-litre PureTech gasoline powerplants will be offered.
Electrification will play a significant role in the DS 8, with Apode admitting that electrification has become the new definition of luxury.
The plug-in hybrid model will make use of the E-Tense system found in the current DS 7 Crossback. However, unlike with the SUV, it will be front-wheel drive only and feature a more modest power output. An EV range of 40 miles will be achievable.
We’ll just have to wait and see if the DS will truly be innovative and revolutionary as Citroën was with its original predecessor.
