DS Automobiles is a rather newer automotive marque that came into being in 2009. The French automaker started off as a subsidiary of Citroen. It was pitched in to take on the luxury likes of Audi and Mercedes-Benz but turned out to be something even more interesting.
DS became a standalone worldwide brand in 2015 and has had a more prominent market share in Italy and China. DS has been a radical name among the various automakers under PSA, where, it is also a part of, and strives to be, an all-electric brand by 2025. PSA is now a part of the biggest automobile group in the world, so yes, DS has very strong backing.
The DS X E- Tense is the brand's latest concept that is a take on its definition of future mobility. This unusual asymmetrical supercar of the future is an intense accumulation of futuristic design cues, a formula-E winning powertrain setup, and an odd take on seating, DS has envisioned it to be fully electric with a very wacky approach. The "DS" logo has always been rather flashy and sharp but it loses its attention when on this futuristic supercar.
The DS X E-Tense is a 1,000+ hp electric supercar for 2035 that has a split personality. We break it down for you.
1360 Hp For The Supercar Of The Future
Everything about the DS X E-Tense is in splits. It is a weird sports/luxury car of the future that somehow lives along well with its split personality. DS has given its vision of 2035 a fully electric powertrain that is confined to its elongated front quarter. It weirdly drives the front wheels only and the power output ranges from 536 hp in "Road" mode to an insane 1341 hp in "track" mode.
It has a carbon-fiber monocoque chassis and adaptive suspension layout that is derived from its much-acclaimed Formula E team. The whole mechanical aspect of things has been taken care of by DS Performance and is a direct takeover from its 2018 Formula E car.
3 Seats But The Driver Gets All The "Wind"
The weirdness intensifies here where the car has two different take-ups, even on the interior and seating layout. The left houses a singular roofless layout for the driver that gives you all of the perks of driving a roofless and windshield less car, just like the others in this elusive yet niche bunch. On the adjacent side, it gets a closed compartment that houses one passenger as standard and can also be added with an additional seat linearly, to make it a 3-seater layout.
The passenger compartment is closed and gets all of the lux-appeal as opposed to the brute sporty appeal for the driver. Again, it has a beautiful yet odd split take on things. It gets a huge gullwing door that has a glass roof and floor, as well. The air is scented, and purified before entering this luxury "compartment" and has quite the "feathery" touch to it. Yes, it literally gets layered with blue and red goose features that decorate the headrest area in the passenger compartment. Weird flex, though that has been produced by French feature dressing specialist, Maison Lemarie.
As autonomy has been given utmost importance in the DS X E-Tense, it gets a rather minimal yet futuristic-looking driver compartment. No screens glaring at you here, instead, you get a personal assistant in the form of a hologram that takes care of all the car's functions.
DS's Vision For 2035 Is An Assymterical Piece Of Art That Can Heal Itself
This is where you might find it hard to cope up if you are someone who abides by "symmetry". DS has somehow managed to make it the exact opposite of equal proportions, yet beautiful. Even the front grille bearing the "DS" logo has been positioned towards the left in line with the driver's compartment. And looks as if the car might split into 2, at any moment (would make a great Batmobile, though!).
The lighting setup at the front and rear are a literal web of fibers that glow up to give a distinctive look. Surely not functional but gets the "concept" idea clearly through. Even aerodynamics is split here with the passenger side getting a larger air duct upfront (makes up for not having a grille). The dual-tone exterior shade is specifically done to highlight its asymmetric character and we actually dig it.
An interesting feature of this concept car from DS is the ability of this car's exterior to retain its form factor in any situation. It means that the X E-Tense can somehow come back to its original shape even after a deforming collision, thanks to some hidden new technology. We wish DS would have enlightened on this, as it has got us scratching our heads, ever since!
When Can We Get To See This Radical Supercar In Person?
As much as we would like to see this mysterious piece of engineering in production, DS doesn't have any near future plans in doing so, at least not in the real world. DS plans to introduce the X E-Tense to the world through a movie premiere in the future. They haven't mentioned the genre or timeframe but we guess it will surely be in a sci-fi flick. But we can expect to see design cues and technologies being taken off this concept car before 2035.
This is one concept car that strengthens DS's image as a wacky and bold automaker and we are very keen on seeing what features would be implemented from the DS X E-Tense into future DS cars. But for now, it surely gives us the same carefree and imaginative vibe of the concept cars from the 1960s.
Sources: Wikipedia.org, Dsautomobiles.co.uk, Topgear.com, Designboom.com, Caranddriver.com, Financialexpress.com