About DS Automobiles DS 9
In 2020, at the Geneva Motor Show, DS Automobiles planned to unveil its first exclusive premium sedan aimed at the European market, the DS 9, and then everything spiraled down.
In February 2020, DS Automobile, the upscale brand of the French automaker Citroen, previewed the DS 9. People waited for it to see it in the flesh at the Geneva Motor Show, which was set to be open in March. And then, the pandemic started, the classic automobile exhibition was canceled at the last minute, and everybody went back home in lockdown. The show cars were covered by dust and waited for better days to shine in their full glory. That took quite a while, but customers were amazed when it was finally available to the public. Citroen finally created a sedan that could boast its illustrious heritage from the 1955 DS. It didn’t sport the “double-chevron” badge on it, though, since DS Automobiles had been a separate brand since 2016. The car was based on the EMP2 platform shared with the Peugeot 508 and the Citroen C5 X.
At the front, the automaker created a bold grille with a hexagonal shape, but taller than on other models from the DS lineup. It was flanked by a pair of LED headlights and adorned by chromed elements. Furthermore, the lower side of the bumper sported a broad, A-shaped air intake flanked by a pair of side scoops. In addition, a set of slim and vertical LED daytime running lights clearly delimitated the car’s width.
The DS 9’s profile clearly resembled the one from the Peugeot 508, with a low-slung roofline and a sloped rear window. A creased line adorned the body panels, starting from the front fenders, crossing the doors, and ending onto the forward corners of the rear taillights. A set of large alloy wheels designed exclusively for the DS 9 emphasized the car’s sporty character. Unlike its 508 sibling, the DS 9 didn’t have frameless door windows but regular ones. Finally, the automaker placed other chromed trims at the back that underlined the jewel-like taillights. At the same time, the automaker put a small lip spoiler on the deck.
Inside, the luxurious cabin featured a pair of bolstered front seats separated by a center console that housed the gear selector and several buttons that flanked it in an inline arrangement. The driver fronted a display inside the instrument cluster, and they could customize the information they saw on the color TFT. To complete the premium aspect, DS Automobiles added a wide touchscreen on the center stack, underlined by the buttons for the HVAC system. In the back, the split-folding (40/20/40) bench seat could accommodate three passengers, and DS Automobiles bragged about the legroom provided there.
Under its skin, the DS 9 dropped most of the mundane engines available on the Peugeot 508 and offered only electrified versions. The least powerful one provided 225 PS (222 hp), while the top-of-the-range version was an impressive 360 PS (355 hp) that sent its oomph in all corners, with the gasoline engine powering the front wheels while an electric motor animated the rear axle. An eight-speed automatic was fitted as standard across the range.