DS goes luxury chic with flagship No.8

DS could have called its new flagship electric vehicle, the DS8, but the No.8 is a very different thing to what has gone before it. The design team has said goodbye to the angular geometric shapes of the past and gone all in on luxury look and feel.

It’s easy to think we’ve heard all this before, not just from DS, but having seen the pre-production model at a preview at the Stellantis Design Centre near Paris, this time it’s true. I’d even go so far as to say that the interior of the No.8 is now the best combination of design, styling and CMF of any model in the Stellantis stable, including, Maserati.

That’s a big claim, but one that is easy to justify and you only need to look at the images here to get an idea of how it compares visually. As always though, we’ll start at the beginning, the exterior.

Back in 2020, the Aero Sport Concept provided some hints of what was to come, a coupe-like luxury SUV. The reality is more crossover than SUV, at least in the true definition of a crossover. It does have 155mm of ground clearance, but this is more like a raised fastback.

One of the main objectives was to give the car charisma, says DS design director, Thierry Metroz, particularly its front and rear identity. The front is dominated by light, with the new DS Luminascreen grille lighting signature. “It’s a new identity with vertical lines and new headlamps with eight diamonds in each,” says Metroz. “I call it the starry lamp.”

Above this light show, the large bonnet sweeps back and contributes to the overall drag co-efficient of just 0.24cd. But it’s the super-luxury touch in the form of a dual tone bonnet that forms a discussion point and is one of Metroz’s favourite features of the No.8. This treatment appears on Rolls-Royce and Bentley models and more recently BMW and Mercedes-Benz, but the DS CMF team have created something unique here. The contrasting colour is not painted on, not is it a decal, it is actually printed on, a process that required extensive collaboration with engineers and the supplier that developed a bespoke printing machine.

The side profile is simple, minimalist with handles that retract on the front doors and are hidden on the rears. There are few character lines, the only dominant one really being he shoulder line. Above that sits a glasshouse that provides more than enough interior light, despite the extremely raked roofline. It flows into a discreet spoiler at the base of the rear window atop a large lower tailgate with new scripting and the No.8 nomenclature.

Again lighting plays a significant part at the rear, with t-shaped LED lights that provide a distinct signature for anyone who sees the vehicle. A choice of 19, 20 or 21-inch wheels enhance the overall look. However, it’s the major change in the interior that will create the most discussion. It’s already grabbed the attention of one of the Stellantis design chiefs, Jean-Pierre Ploué, who allegedly described it as “the best of the Stellantis brands at the moment.”

The most noticeable thing to anyone familiar with modern DS design, is that the focus on multiple geometric shapes has gone, replaced by lines and surfaces that are minimalistic with a luxurious look and feel. Lighting has been a key area, combined with some innovative materials and design features.

“It was really important to put the emphasis on lighting,” says Thomas Bouveret, interior design director for DS. As well as subtle ambient lighting that enhances the floating effect of the screens, there are other more obvious lighting elements. This includes the vertical strip on the upper door trim that mimics the design of the front DRLs. Not only is it a signature piece, it also acts as the grab handle and a safety element as it is visible to those outside the car when the door is opened.

This light strip is within another innovative feature, the aluminium foil speaker covers which are laser-etched, again to add the feeling of luxury and tactility. They also add continuity to the wraparound lines of the upper IP and air vents. Then there’s the steering wheel, another new signature element with its internal x-shape.

“Most steering wheels are very traditional with a t-shape, but we tried it on the show car and after many tests, we believe it offers more positions than a classic steering wheel, while also being a strong design signature,” says Bouveret.

Changes have also been made to the design of the seats. Bouveret says that the aim was to enhance forward visibility for those in the rear and they have achieved that by removing some width from the seat shoulders. The headrests are now integrated and there’s a new neck warmer feature.

Metroz has been outspoken in the past about the need to reduce the use of screens and that shows in the No.8. It has a 16-inch wide central screen, but in having a wider panel, there is no temptation to add a secondary screen. Instead, a small section of the display has been allocated to the front passenger. Mathilde Fourreau, CMF designer for DS, says that having less screens allows for glorification of the materials. “Every material should as luxury and high-end as possible,” she says. “Avantgarde, chic and serenity were the keywords for the No.8 and the direction we want to go.”

There’s a strong play on contrasts, with the option of black upholstery with gold accents, inspired by the Nikon calendars of the 1970s. Dark ‘Eternal Blue’ with aluminium is a signature option that showcases the ambition to move away from traditional colours. At the same time it marks a move away from the use of chrome.

It’s all very different to the DS models we have seen in recent years. There’s similarity to Peugeot in the exterior design perhaps, but the DS team have done more than enough to differentiate the No.8. Nowhere is that differentiation more apparent than in the interior, which is not so much an evolution as a total return to the drawing board. The results are impressive in terms of design, styling and materials. It could well be one of the biggest interior design changes of 2024 and by all accounts, DS needed to do things differently and in the No.8, it has.