Attracting much interest at the Geneva show is the E-Tense, unveiled by DS Automobiles.
While looking very much like a new coupe supercar ready for production, the E-Tense is a concept, with apparently no plans to put it on sale.
Citroën’s spun-off premium brand describes the E-Tense as a car that “encapsulates the brand’s stylistic and technological vision, and points towards DS’s future with its high-performance electric powertrain.”
The E-Tense is all electric, its 402 horsepower drivetrain also producing 381lbft of torque, powered by lithium-ion batteries placed under the chassis to keep the centre of gravity low.
DS says that the car “takes its rightful place among the ranks of high-performance GTs” and it is said to be capable of a 0-62mph time of 4.5 seconds and a 155mph top speed. The range is quoted at around 190 miles on the ‘mixed cycle’ or more than 220 miles in urban environments.
The E-Tense measures 4720mm long and 1290mm high, its shell styled to an attractive GT design finished in a striking metallic green body colour with a chrome-plated ‘spine’ running right across the centre of the car.
The car is built around a carbon fibre monocoque with aluminium subframes, the two electric motors placed in the rear and handling-friendly double-wishbone suspension fitted all round.
Like the Divine DS concept that accompanied the launch of the DS standalone brand at the 2015 Geneva show, the E-Tense has no rear screen to its cockpit, the driver’s rearwards vision provided by a rear-view camera which is apparently set for production.
Also likely to reach showrooms on future Ds production models are the headlamps, which boast individual ‘jewel-like’ LED modules that can rotate by up to 180 degrees to provide different throw patterns to suit varying driving environments.
The E-Tense is not, however, expected to be among the six new models promised by DS before 2020, despite some suggesting it would be a perfect ‘halo car’ for the brand as it seeks to increase awareness of its ‘Spirit of Avant Garde’ marketing slogan.
