DS Automobiles presented its latest all-electric Formula E challenger – DS E-Tense FE 19. The car goes on display today at DS World in Paris (France).
The avant-garde brand first rose to the FIA Formula E challenge in Season 2. Then new technical regulations provided constructors with an opportunity to demonstrate their particular expertise.
The end of 2018 will mark the beginning of a fresh era for Formula E. Then the second generation of cars takes centre stage. The new single-seaters combine an extensively revised chassis and a new aerodynamic package. They also have no rear wing while the battery is new as well as the tyres and the halo cockpit head protection.
Meanwhile, DS Performance has used its three years of experience in Formula E to entirely rethink its drivetrain. Its new motor – the DS E-Motor 19 – incorporates an optimised energy recovery system. The brand has also capitalised on its know-how to conceive a new transmission system. New are the rear suspension arrangement, the cooling system, the fully active braking system. And new electronics engineered to optimise energy management.
Since the creation of DS Automobiles in 2014, DS Performance has used the excellence that drives its successful Formula E programme to help shape its vision for automobile mobility in the future
The technology developed in the Versailles headquarters has proved to be both efficient and competitive. The brand has used the lessons learned while racing in this high-tech laboratory to finetune the development not only of DS 7 Crossback E-Tense 4×4 but also of its other upcoming electrified models.
“Formula E is set to undergo a revolution next season,” says DS Performance Director Xavier Mestelan Pinon. “The progress achieved recently by all the constructors involved in Formula E has spurred us to surpass ourselves and be even more resourceful. The new-generation cars will have a power output of 250kW and a 54kWh battery. DS E-Tense FE 19’s drivers will consequently benefit from both twice the range and higher performance. And these gains mirror the phenomenal progress that has been seen in the world of electric vehicle technology made possible by Formula E. It is thanks to this level of technology that we are able to offer our customers ever more innovative cars and even higher performance. This is the real driving force behind our involvement in this avant-garde championship.”
DS E-Tense FE 19 incorporates a number of new solutions conceived by DS Performance
Work on the car began in September 2016 and the first parts were submitted to bench testing the following spring. The target of a minimum weight of 900kg – driver and battery (380kg) included – represented a major challenge. DS Performance is also working on the development of an innovative energy recovery system based on electronically-controlled braking.
For its first public appearance, DS E-Tense FE 19 features a matt black finish. It expresses DS Performance’s new visual signature, while the livery’s gold detailing symbolises France’s unique savoir-faire in the luxury goods sector which is so dear to DS Automobiles.
Meanwhile, the lessons learned in racing are accelerating the development of DS Automobiles’ range of electrified vehicles
Plug-in or all-electric variants of all its models will effectively be available in the future. The first concrete example is DS 7 Crossback E-Tense 4×4. It will have two motors for a total power of 300 horsepower. The driving range on electricity alone will be in excess of 60 kilometres.
“We are extremely proud of the way DS Performance is defending DS’s colours in Formula E,” affirms Yves Bonnefont, CEO, DS Automobiles. “Our brand is young and ambitious, and electrified vehicles have been a core part of our strategy from the outset. By 2025, 35 percent of the DSs we sell will be electrified versions. And 2018 is a hugely important year for us, as well, since we are launching DS 7 Crossback and there will be the debut of the new DS E-Tense FE 19. More big surprises that benefit from the avant-garde innovation hatched by the creative forces at DS Automobiles are in store over the coming months, too.”
Four seasons of history, now something new is coming…
Watch it here ➡️ https://t.co/2xPrkrd0TP#GEN2 #FormulaE #GenevaMotorshow2018 pic.twitter.com/iYgV7tx3bl
— DS Virgin Racing (@DSVirginRacing) March 6, 2018
