Driven by the spirit of innovation and backed by the heritage of the iconic 1955 Citroën DS, the DS brand was born in 2014 as the embodiment of French luxury in the automotive industry. Since 2019, DS had made the shift to electrification a priority… long before the current Stellantis brands announced their intentions towards the move.
With innovation being a crucial part of the brand’s existence, DS introduced its E-Tense performance concept earlier this year. The E-Tense performance concept presents innovative new ideas for the future of the electric car. One such feature is the use of electric motor regenerative instead of conventional brakes, a potential forward orientation in the field of electric vehicles. Using technology from the brand’s Formula E racing car program, which uses two on-board electric motors to slow the vehicle entirely through regenerative braking, up to 600kW.
Although regenerative braking is already available in most electric vehicles, the technology is currently being used to complement conventional friction brakes, however, DS is investigating whether regenerative braking alone could possibly be the only method of slowing cars down, helping to better charging the battery in the process, and removing conventional brake discs and pads. Intelligent technology makes the conventional Formula E braking system fitted to the E-Tense Performance Concept completely redundant.
The E-Tense performance concept was developed in conjunction with the brand’s champion Formula E team and uses the same electric motors found in electric racing cars. With 815 horsepower and an impressive 8,000 Nm (5,900 lb-ft) of torque, the E-Tense performance concept can accelerate from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in around 2 seconds. With a 350 kW charge, a full charge can be completed in just 5 minutes.
“Formula E is all about maximizing performance and efficiency, and the E-Tense performance concept is our vision of a road car using our race-winning technology,” said Beatrice Foucher, CEO of DS Automobiles. “Regenerative braking is a very powerful way to not only slow the vehicle down, but also improve battery performance. The E-Tense performance concept takes the technology to a new level, with regenerative braking used only to slow down the vehicle.
Image gallery of the DS E-TENSE PERFORMANCE concept car:
Source: DS Automobiles
