The DS No 8 signals the start of a new era at the French brand in which it will pursue a fresh approach to how it designs, engineers and markets its cars.
A high-riding fastback in the mould of the Peugeot 408 and e-3008, the new flagship arrives at an important time for struggling DS. The French firm is looking to rebuild sales after a 25% drop to 35,000 units in Europe during 2024 – and to hit crucial profitability targets by 2031 or risk being axed by parent Stellantis.
While STLA-based cars from sibling brands Peugeot and Vauxhall have been launched with electric and combustion options, the No 8 will be EV-only, in line with the French brand's plan to phase out ICE power for its next-gen line-up.
Inspired by the Aero Sport Lounge concept from 2020, albeit significantly toned down for production, the No 8 is the first model to adopt DS’s new naming strategy, which is similar to that of French fashion house Chanel, which sells the No 5 and No 19 perfumes. This naming convention will be employed for future DS models such as the successor to the DS 3 as part of a complete naming rebrand.
The No 8 is underpinned by the STLA Medium platform, which has been reworked in a bid to meet the car’s target of class-leading aerodynamic performance. “In the past, we did a nice design and after [worked out] how to make this design efficient, but on this car it was a different process: we started with aero,” design chief Thierry Métroz told Autocar.
“From the beginning, when we sketched the car, we discussed with the aerodynamics people – ‘if you put the edge at this place, it’s better for aerodynamics; you don’t need to have this’ – and we really designed the car and the spec around the aerodynamics,” he said.
To that end, the No 8 employs several wind-cheating design devices. The most prominent of those is its rakish roofline, which is 6cm lower than that on the Peugeot 3008. The result is a drag coefficient of 0.24 – better than the 0.26 of rival Polestar 4 and just slightly behind the Tesla Model Y’s benchmark 0.23. So although the longest-legged version of the No 8 uses the same 97.2kWh (usable capacity) battery as the e-3008 Long Range, it can travel 31 miles farther per charge: DS claims a total of 466 miles.
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Are all brands now having to 'reinvent' themselves to stay relevant or disappear into electric obscurity? The problem with EV's is there's very little to differentiate brands or models now? A battery and motor in one car is pretty much the same as any other. No point putting 1000hp in a car as a selling point either, as it will probably kill you, and if the car doesn't, the depreciation will.
Unfortunately, re-invention tends to mean more expensive, which is what looks like is happening here, and that's bad. The problem is, DS were almost a non-brand before this, and will probably stay a non-brand after, and it doesn't matter what the car looks like either.
Looks good! Not sure about the stearing wheel though, too many spokes.
Now, relying on a large soloon to get you back to profitability hasn't worked for French car companies in the past.....
Embarrassingly bad taste both inside and out. If DS think this record depreciating effort will rebuild their dire European sales then they're as clueless than Andy1 and his chum, Rick marvel, THE fanboys who hate DS criticism.
You never disappoint, clown.
Shame you don't like opinions other than your own, facist.
Have you two exchanged Christmas cards yet?