DS Automobiles’ recent SM Tribute was one of our concept cars of the year, a striking tribute to one of France’s most accomplished automotive designers, the late Robert Opron, and a promising sign of things to come from the luxury French brand.
DS is doing everything in its power to overcome the slight whiff of oxymoron that those three words have in the contemporary automotive realm. The new DS No.8 is the first truly concrete sign that it might be succeeding. For a start, there’s the name. ‘No.8’ is the brand’s new nomenclative standard – think Chanel, for example. It follows on from the DS 3, DS 4, DS 7 and DS 9, but is bolder than any of them.
As the first DS to be 100 per cent electric straight out of the gate, with no ICE or hybrid option, the No. 8 makes more of a fuss about elegant design, inside and out, than ever before. For once, that chutzpah is warranted, for although the new car doesn’t quite match the lissom eccentricity of the SM Tribute, it’s markedly different to the hatches and SUVs that have previously defined the brand (with the exception of the DS 9).
Dubbed a ‘manifesto for the French Art of Travel’ by the brand, the EV’s main accomplishment is aerodynamics and a correspondingly impressive range – 469 miles, it’s claimed. High-sided but low-roofed, the DS No.8 has a fastback silhouette, with four doors (the back two are neatly concealed) and a distinctive light treatment.
Under the skin, there’s a lot shared with the Peugeot e-3008, even if the No.8 appears lower and sleeker. This is what an ‘SUV coupé’ is supposed to look like, as opposed to the poorly proportioned efforts from Mercedes and BMW.
Other tricks include an illuminated grille, the ‘DS LuminaScreen’, and the extensive use of the so-called ‘Clous de Paris’ pattern inside and out, a form of raised embossing found in the watch industry. At the rear, the lights form the extremities of the body, with a deep vertical feature that reaches down to the bumper. The body shape is further enhanced by the duotone paintwork, with a gloss black bonnet and roof contrasting with the body colour.
Inside, the broad dashboard emphasises the width of the car, with a central information screen set on a backlit ‘shelf’. In addition to Nappa leather, you’ll find brushed aluminium and complex patterns and surfacing, all intended to reference classic French luxury and deco stylings. There’s an unusual four-spoke ‘X-shaped’ steering wheel, with embossed inserts, and elements like the sound system and vents are seamlessly incorporated into the surfaces.
A complex system of ambient lighting helps give structure and depth to the interior surfaces, while efficiency is helped by direct heating systems, including the DS Neck Warmer system in the headrest, which avoids the need for energy-intensive fans and blowers on cold days.
Many of the key design elements, inside and out, have their origins in DS’s recent concept cars, including the asymmetric DS X E-Tense to the DS Aero Sport Lounge. Although the finished No.8 has toned down the conceptual extremities, it’s still sufficiently different and more than justifies DS’s claims to reinvent first class electric travel.
DS No.8, register an interest at DSAutomobiles.co.uk
