A whole new type of car? DS No.4 replacement to get breakthrough new bodystyle
Which car maker will create a new vehicle type like the original Qashqai or Scenic? DS is going to try
DS is exploring a radical new bodystyle for the future DS No.4, with the brand’s CEO throwing down the gauntlet to his design director and product boss to innovate.
“My team is starting a very ambitious project at the moment,” DS head of design Thierry Metroz told Auto Express during an exclusive chat at the Brussels Motor Show. “We are looking to create something new to replace the No.4, [something] very ambitious in terms of silhouette and design approach.”
The recently facelifted DS No.4 has a conventional hatchback form, with a touch of crossover due to more ground clearance than a VW Golf. But the next-generation No.4 is shaping up to be much more radical, moving car silhouettes on from the SUV or sedan crossovers of recent years, vows Metroz.
Work is at an early stage, with the DS design team having just completed the initial sketch work and moving into the 3D-modeling phase. His thoughts so far? “It’s wow! Very exciting, very promising for the future. Something is coming.”
The dream is to create a breakthrough smash, in the way the Renault Scenic invented the compact MPV in 1997 or the Nissan Qashqai established the mid-size crossover template in 2006. The trouble is mould-breakers don’t always translate into commercial success, as the Citroen C5 X – a recent mash-up of saloon, estate and SUV – demonstrated.
The ambition stems from recently appointed CEO Xavier Peugeot, who wants to unleash the innovation that created the original 1955 DS19, with its alien form, hydropneumatic suspension, disc brakes and swivelling headlamps. “I think we should also probably invent some new segments if we can,” he told a handful of media including Auto Express last autumn.
Advanced design teams across the industry are looking for the next big thing – or even better, the next smaller thing, given that manufacturers’ shift to boxier SUVs has impacted car efficiency, while length, width and weight have increased dramatically over the decades.
Aerodynamic efficiency
The unconventional silhouette of the flagship DS No.8 may give some clues to the future DS No.4. Metroz and his team lowered that coupe-SUV’s roof and bonnet height to improve efficiency, a core DS principle.
“With DS, we would like to be the most efficient of all the Stellantis brands,” explained Metroz. “[That means] aerodynamic efficiency to have better range in the electric version, but also in the way we develop cars using less components. This [requires] less raw materials, is more sustainable and makes the car lighter to improve efficiency.
“We are starting this project with this vision for the future. It's an incredible external and interior design,” he promised.
Breakdown of design constraints
Metroz will be working alongside DS product director Audrey Amar. She believes the constraints of the past that defined cars, such as length, wheel size and overall form, are breaking down.
“This is the beginning of a new segmentation,” she explained. “When you look at the DS No.8, what is it: a sedan, a cross? We named it a D-cross. For years we have been mixing the different codes of the different segments to create new concepts.”
She believes all that matters is that a car looks appealing to customers and meets the expectations of their use case. “That’s the important question,” she stressed.
We’ll have to wait until the end of the decade to see how Metroz, Peugeot and Amar’s ambition translates into a finished car. But, based on their philosophy and determination, it’s a tantalising prospect – and worthy of DS.
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