60 DS
It has 800bhp, does without brakes and is shaping future DS road and race cars. We drive the E-Tense Performance
The not-quite-green, not-quite-gold supercar flashes by, with the shrill whine of two electric motors in its wake. Special particles in its paint subtly shift its colour, chameleon-like, under the Mediterranean sunshine. Heads in grandstands swivel and double-take, even here in supercar-saturated Monte Carlo. In a few moments qualifying gets underway for the 2022 Formula E Monaco E-Prix, but first the DS E-Tense Performance concept car is tearing around the circuit in a high-speed demo run. Time is tight in the Formula E schedule: someone important must have pulled some strings here.
Laps concluded (including a flamboyantly sideways exit from the final corner), the DS whirs to a halt in the paddock like a creation from a sci-fi movie. Out of the driver’s seat hops a race-suited Carlos Tavares, CEO and string-puller-in-chief at industry giant Stellantis, parent company of DS Automobiles. The E-Tense Performance (let’s call it the E-TP from now on, to save ink) is a genuinely fascinating project for DS, because it’s a car with a double life. By night, it’s a spectacular concept car foreshowing design cues for DS’s next generation of road cars (expect its front and rear light treatment to reappear in similar form on 2024 DS models). But its new day job is even more interesting: to be a hard-working test car to trial innovative engineering for both future electric road cars and DS’s next-gen Formula E racing car. While most concept cars live a life ferried from show stand to show stand and are rarely driven at speed (if they’re driveable at all), this one’s already been belting around test tracks trialling a game-changing braking system.
If you have a sense of déjà vu, that’s because it’s not the first time the E-TP has been shown to the world. This is something of a second life for the concept, as it first appeared in 2016 (when its original face previewed that of the DS 7 crossover). Around 18 months ago, DS’s Performance division was in search of an ideal driveable test bed for EV technology. Specifically, a clever regen system for the 2023 season’s third-generation Formula E car, as well as future roadgoing EVs. Time for the E-TP to come out of semi-retirement, and get a facelift to go with its technical overhaul. Its design details are stunning close up but it’s the way it drives that’s most intriguing.
Tavares is all smiles. ‘What we all need to realise is that you can make thrilling sports cars with electric powertrains,’ he tells CAR. ‘You have a kick of acceleration which is outstanding – in fact, much better than a combustion engine
