DS Automobiles has revealed the DS E-Tense Performance prototype, which it says was conceived as a high-performance laboratory to accelerate technology development.
Built by the Stellantis brand’s racing arm, DS Performance, it features a carbon monocoque, which packages twin electric motors sourced from the company’s Formula E machine and giving a combined output of 600kW (815hp) and 8,000Nm, driving all four wheels. DS Performance states that with a matching 600kW regen capacity, impressively a mechanical braking system is not needed, and is present only as a backup safety measure.
“Our objective is to apply the experience acquired in Formula E and the expertise that we’ve taken from our international titles to a project that predicts the high-performance electric car of tomorrow,” explained Thomas Chevaucher, director of DS Performance. “It is a laboratory that we will use to analyze the behavior of components and to develop them with a view to future manufacturing. The idea is also to find solutions to lower costs, make them easier to manufacture and explore implementations in production models. The next generations of the E-Tense range will benefit from these developments.”
DS says it will commence testing of the prototype this month, with driving duties falling to Formula E champions Jean-Éric Vergne and António Félix da Costa, who will run the car both on track and public roads.
