DS Automobiles Doesn’t Rival Tesla, But We’d Love to See a Reborn Citroen DS Fight It

Well, it’s time for a French “ou, la, la” moment – according to an exclusive report from the good folks over at Britain’s Auto Express, “the world’s coolest car” according to their readers, the Citroen DS executive car, might come back for another stint on the automotive market.

The Citroen DS was a front-mid-engine, front-wheel drive executive car produced by the French automaker between 1955 and 1975. It has gained worldwide recognition not just because of its distinctive fastback/sedan, wagon/estate, and convertible body configurations but also because of its smooth ride enabled by its innovative hydraulic systems.

It is beloved by automotive fans around the world, and even to this day, many folks marvel at its incredible comfort and ride handling, as well as the quirky yet lovable styling. Naturally, when we noticed Auto Express took by storm the rumor mill recently with a report about a possible revival, we were all eyes and ears – especially since the publication’s resident pixel master also envisioned a potential design project based on it.

Apparently, the luxury French brand DS Automobiles is considering the option to revive the iconic Citroen DS for a new luxury saloon – and Stellantis corner office head honcho, Olivier Francois, was the one that revealed a stylish and aero-cool tribute to the legend from the 1960s could be in the work. That’s not a bad idea if they’re executing it right – DS has Stellantis’ top position among its multitude of brands, but it’s merely a shadow behind established luxury players like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Lexus, and even new players like Genesis.

Naturally, if this project comes to life, it won’t fight the 7 Series and Lexus LS. Instead, it would need to compete with the BMW i7, Mercedes EQS saloon, and especially the Tesla Model S. As such; the resident CGI expert decided to tap into Citroen and DS’ heritage by performing a modernization of the old-school Citroen DS with current DS Automobiles DNA and all the cool technologies of the EV age.

Of course, take the rendering showcased in the gallery with a heavy dose of salt because we are not even sure the report of a reborn Citroen DS under the luxury DS Automobiles brand will pan out – let alone vouch that this is the design they’re going with. Anyway, it’s a cool spiritual successor – at least as far as the parallel universes of vehicular CGI are concerned, leaning heavily into the Citroen DS heritage and less into DS Automobiles’ current styling.

As for the juicy powertrain details, there are none, but it’s easy to guess that a halo brand like DS can easily tap into the recent STLA Large architecture for options like the Dodge Charger Daytona’s 496-hp R/T or the 670-hp Scat Pack. At the same time, the batteries can be plentiful to enable a range of over 400 miles on a single charge, as Tesla does with the Model S AWD (402 miles, 1300 mph top speed, 3.1 seconds to 60 mph). Naturally, it would also need access to 800-volt technology to enable fast charging top-ups from 10 to 80% SoC (state of charge) in half an hour or less – such a big saloon would be perfect for long-distance travel, right?

So, what do you think? Should Stellantis fund DS Automobiles to get a revival project going for the Citroen DS, or should they stay put because the genius of the original can’t be replicated anymore?