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PARIS – Conventional wisdom for more than a century has dictated some form of friction-based components providing primary stopping power for motor vehicles, but a steady, increasing shift to vehicular electrification is challenging this premise. And the DS E-Tense Performance takes the next step relying on regenerative braking for stopping power.
The concept vehicle, essentially a luxurious coupe body on the 815-horsepower DS Formula E race car platform, retains the disc-brake system from the Formula E racer “for safety,” but the two electric motors provide the actual deceleration and stopping capability.
The E-Tense Performance is essentially a performance laboratory according to DS Automobiles, a luxury brand launched some eight years ago by Citroën (a part of Stellantis and the namesake of the luxurious, futuristic DS sedans produced by Citroen in the 50s).
According to an announcement by DS, “From February 2022, the DS PERFORMANCE team is organizing the first tests with DS E-TENSE PERFORMANCE. Jean-Éric Vergne, E-TENSE ambassador, and Antonio Felix da Costa, both Formula E champions, will take turns at the wheel of the prototype to finalize its development, before beginning tests on tracks and open roads. The real performance data from DS E-TENSE PERFORMANCE will then be revealed.”
There is no timetable for this technology to make its ways to production vehicles; friction brakes will remain a major part of the electric-vehicle world for years to come, but all automakers constantly search for ways to make their products simpler, less costly to produce, which the elimination of a conventional friction-braking system would accomplish.
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“Our objective is to apply the experience acquired in Formula E and the expertise that we’ve taken from our international titles to a project which predicts the high-performance electric car of tomorrow. It is a laboratory that we will use to analyze the behavior of components and to develop them with a view to future manufacturing. The idea is also to find solutions to lower costs, make them easier to manufacture and explore implementations in production models. The next generations of the E-TENSE range will benefit from these developments,” said Thomas Chevaucher, DS PERFORMANCE Director.
