DS is set to show a technically advanced premium sport saloon that's claimed to mark the beginning of a 'new era' for car-maker
DS has released a teaser for an eagerly awaited all-new saloon car that may take the DS 9 name and will go head-to-head with both BMW and Mercedes. It’ll be revealed next week on 24 February, and will be the brand’s Geneva show star, appearing alongside a new concept car too.
DS released a single obscure image online of a textured finish with the brand’s DS logo and a second clip posted on the car-maker’s Twitter account has revealed that the ‘DS 9’ is set to take the shape of a stylish large saloon. As such, it’ll be a brand flagship intended to take on the likes of the E-Class and the 5 Series.
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The DS 9 is set to get a more radical look to help it fight against rivals in a struggling sector of the market. From our first glimpse, the saloon looks heavily inspired by the DS E-Tense that was unveiled back at the 2016 Geneva motor show, with the short video clip indicating that the car will feature bold frontal styling and have a sharply-raked rear that incorporates the car-maker’s trademark Matrix LED tail lamps. Our exclusive images preview the final look.
Inside, a quick glimpse of the new saloon cabin reveals that it will bag a gear selector lifted from the current Peugeot 508 – and that’s telling because beneath the new DS saloon it’s primed to be based on same PSA Group’s EMP2 platform as the mid-size Peugeot saloon.
A quick flash of the DS 9’s rear, meanwhile, reveals that the car will come with the latest ‘E-Tense’ plug-in hybrid powertrain. That means it will combine a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine with two electric motors, a lithium-ion battery and an eight-speed automatic. We expect total power to be pegged at around 300bhp which should easily be enough for a 0-62mph sprint of less than 6.0 seconds, thanks to all-wheel drive.
With its batteries fully topped up, the new French BMW-rival should be capable of covering up to 37km on electric power alone, before petrol power kicks in.
When the production car arrives on sale towards the end of 2020, the line-up will be mostly front-wheel drive and come with an engine line-up shared with the Peugeot 508.
The popularity of traditional saloons is in decline – Ford recently decided to stop development of such vehicles in North America – but bosses from the luxury French brand feel it is imperative that the company has such a flagship model in its range.
“Since the beginning it was extremely important to have this car in our range,” DS product boss Eric Apode told Auto Express way back at the 2018 Beijing Motor Show. “But we will never do a copy; DS is something different, something spectacular. With our flagship we will do that.”
Read our in-depth review of the new DS 7 Crossback right here…
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