Show cars that have shaped DS Automobiles

However most of them have been important to the direction of the brand’s design language. And anyway, DS Automobiles has produced a few delectable show-stoppers, none more delectable than the SM Tribute Coupe from 2024. The original SM coupe of the 1970s was badged as a Citroen, as DS wasn’t its own brand back then, but these days it’s kind of accepted that the SM was a long-ago forebear of what DS could and would become as a badge in and of itself.

Could the SM Tribute go into production?

The SM Tribute concept took the incredible shovel-nosed and slim-hipped outline of that original SM — one of the most gorgeous cars ever made, and we shall be taking no further questions on that — and updated it for the 2020s, with slim LED lights setting off gold-and-black paintwork.

Not only was the SM Tribute a stunning thing to look at, but by a curious quirk of history — and the complex world of modern car making — DS and Maserati are once again stablemates in the Stellantis conglomerate.

Back when the original SM was being made, Citroen actually owned Maserati and used the Italian firm’s fabulous 2.7-litre V6 engine to drive the front wheels of the SM.

DS dropped some heavy hints at the time of the Tribute’s reveal that Maserati’s modern-day twin-turbo ‘Nettuno’ V6 engine was lurking somewhere under that sharp bodywork, but we’ve heard little since. Rumours are that there are serious plans for a limited production run, and if that’s true we need to start saving for a deposit.

How about a concept fit for a president?

Of course, we could travel back a bit further in time and go and check out some of the wild cars based on the original (Citroen-badged) DS saloon, such as the remarkable presidential limousines. Well, we could except our own Dave Humphreys has already looked back at those, so click here for more on all that…

Mind you, even with its relative youth as a standalone brand, DS Automobiles hasn’t been shy when it comes to producing some properly wild concept cars. Such as the DS X E-Tense.

Choose seats depending on your hairstyle

Now, E-Tense in DS-speak means electric power, but that’s not what makes this particular concept such a wild thing. No, the wild part here is that the DS X E-Tense has an asymmetric interior, where on one side the driver sits in a slim, tightly enclosed cabin (like a fighter pilot).

On the other side of the car there’s a totally open compartment, exposed to the air and the elements — although the X E-Tense does come with a feathery blanket (a ‘stole’ in DS’s words) to keep the draughts away from the shoulders.

The idea is that the X E-Tense is entirely autonomous, so depending on your mood (and presumably the weather) you can choose whether you want to be enclosed, or out in the open. Oh, and the X E-Tense has 1,360hp of electric power too, by the way.

Who cares how fast this one is?

DS has done some more realistic concept cars, such as the DS E-Tense Performance, a gorgeously low-slung coupe that drew on the expertise of DS’s own Formula E team to create a seriously high-performance electric machine It did 0-100km/h in two seconds, apparently.

We preferred the E-Tense Performance’s stunning lines to its claimed performance, though.

DS makes some really good-looking cars — the current No.8 especially — but a production version of that concept would just be the icing on the cake.

Take note of this concept’s design themes

Some DS concepts are much more sensible. Take the DS Aero Sport Lounge: a truly gorgeous concept car with a light-up grille and a luxurious interior.

Now take a step or two back and squint a little bit. See the current production No.8 in the design? And the updated DS No.4? Yup, the Aero Sport Lounge was a motor show flight of fancy, but it was also a massive, flashing signpost as to how DS was going to design its future models.

It’s always worth paying attention to concept cars — even if the tech is a bit futuristic, there may be more to it than just razzmatazz.