DS, PSA Group's luxury division, brought its vision of the future to the 2018 Beijing auto show in the DS X E-Tense concept, which follows the E-Tense concept from 2016. The brand previously teased the battery-electric GT concept in a brief teaser video, but now we have the details of the supercar meant for 2035.
DS said at the Thursday reveal that the DS X E-Tense is meant to shun the idea of self-driving pods, but designers and engineers still attempted to envision what 2035 would mean for a GT car. The future-forward approach includes a radically different exterior shape with dashes of French heritage and luxury blended together.
The detail is in the cockpit, and it's full of over-the-top features fit for the year 2035. The pyramidal structure of the cockpit gives way to a three-seat design. DS said the seat is meant to mimic motorsport seats, while carbon fiber and leather materials weave together for an elegant and sporty design. Navy leather, wood, and metal make up the steering wheel, and a trademark DS pearl top-stitch pattern washes over much of the leather inside the cabin.
Although the DS X E-Tense is a driver's car, it's also capable of self-driving too. When in self-driving mode, DS said the seat becomes a "cocoon" with cooling and massage functions, while an artificial intelligence assistant, "IRIS," takes care of numerous cockpit controls. And, for those who dare, the see-through electro-chromatic glass floor provides views of the road as the driver looks down.
Now, the power. The DS X E-Tense is a GT car with Formula E engineering. Two electric motors, located in the front wheels, provide 540 horsepower when on the road. When the car hits the track, a special "Circuit" mode ups the power figure to 1,360 hp. The suspension is from DS Performance, the technical team behind DS’ Formula E program. Additionally, a carbon-fiber chassis sits on springs and torsion bars, while an advanced active system controls traction, grip, and deceleration.
Obviously, there's no production car planned following the DS X E-Tense, but we may very well look back years from now and see the futuristic GT as a harbinger of what was to come.
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