So many of my posts are about how amazing French cars are, from their wacky designs to their incredible engineering and racing prowess. And here comes another W for the French, one that enthusiasts can really get excited about. In an interview with Autocar at the recent Formula E race in London, recently appointed CEO of Citroën's fancy DS brand Xavier Peugeot talked about how he wants to create more performance models, and why it's important to stick with racing.
It might seem a bit odd that a brand like DS would want to go racing, but it makes sense, and there's precedent for it. Citroën first introduced models like the DS3 and DS5 in the early 2010s as part of a luxurious DS sub-brand, inspired by the original Citroën DS (the greatest car of all time). DS Automobiles was spun off into its own company in 2016 to become more differentiated from Citroën, and its current lineup consists of the chic DS 3, DS 4 and new DS N°8 crossovers. The brand is headed towards full electrification, with the lineup offering a mix of hybrid and full EV powertrains.
None of those models are especially performance-oriented, but DS has competed in Formula E since 2018 when it partnered with the Techeetah team; after that company folded, the team was rebranded DS Penske in 2022, which it has remained since then. Coinciding with that announcement DS unveiled the E-Tense Performance concept in 2022 (seen in these images), which was an evolution of the earlier 2016 E-Tense concept. It used the Formula E race car's 815-horsepower electric powertrain and a carbon-fiber monocoque, and it looked amazing.
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Formula E Brings In The Youth
Alright, enough of the French niche brand history that I don't expect most Americans to know about. When Autocar asked Peugeot, the new CEO, if he was thinking about coming out with a full-fledged production performance car, he said "There is no closed debate, so why not? It might be consistent for us to think about even more powerful versions of our models, of our engines, that would align with our commitment in Formula E." The N°8, which uses Stellantis' STLA Medium platform, is currently available with up to 350 horsepower. That's not bad, but a performance version with, let's say, double that would be awesome. DS has played with performance trims before, like the fantastic DS3 Racing. But, of course, a standalone model like the E-Tense would be even better.
Peugeot said that a big advantage of being in Formula E is that it "continues to fascinate younger audiences," and that creating a flagship performance car could draw in more youthful buyers. The company is definitely gonna stay in Formula E, too. "I believe today that being committed to racing cars is important for DS," said Peugeot, "it brings dynamism, it brings energy, it brings the capacity to stimulate road cars, capacity to stimulate engineers, capacity to get the benefit of the evolutionary technology in our everyday cars and therefore to have real competitive advantages."
DS Is Staying Premium
Earlier this year DS' design director said the brand could aim for Bentley and Rolls-Royce, but Peugeot says his plan is to keep DS firmly in the premium position. Said Peugeot, "The German brands have been established for years, for decades, even in the case of BMW, Audi and Mercedes. But we also see that there are new players coming up. We see Polestar, we see this kind of new brand, which just reinforces the fact that premium in Europe is a key lever. The premium market is a quarter of the sales volumes [in the European market] but it makes up 40% of the profits. It's relevant for a group like ours [Stellantis] to have a premium brand like DS."
Maybe DS could build something like the SM-inspired Tribute concept using Formula E–derived mechanicals, or a new sports car to battle upcoming electric models like the Porsche 718, Alpine A110, Polestar 6 and whatever Audi is cooking up. Whatever DS ends up doing in the realm of performance, I can't wait.
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