DS E-TENSE concept car production feasible

Powered by a muscular 300kW electric powertrain, boasting a stunning hand-crafted cabin and dramatic carbon-fibre body work, the DS E-TENSE was one of several head-turning dream cars at the 2016 Geneva motor show.

The vehicle has been dubbed a 'concept' and it takes just one look to see this. But DS brand's CEO Yves Bonnefont said the car was more than just a flight of fancy.

"This is a real car, this is not a concept car," Bonnefont said in response to motoring.com.au's question about wild DS concepts seldom becoming reality.

The DS chief hinted that the audacious green vehicle could be precursor to an all-new electric vehicle or EV.

"It drives 0-100km in less than 4.5 seconds, you can imagine this not the sort of performance a concept car can achieve. So this is very much like a car we could do," he countered.

So when we will see a production? The DS boss was evasive: "This is clearly an object we put on the table for the future, so let's see where we go".

It's likely the French car maker will gauge public and private reaction to the new model, and then find the R&D funding for a production version to go ahead. But Bonnefont indicates there's a corporate level of determination to bring the car to production if the public is in favour.

"This car actually means a lot for DS, because this is a concentration of what we want to do for the future," said Bonnefont, who also implied the company is keen to leverage its Formula E electric motor racing involvement with an all-electric production vehicle.

"It is a fully electric car, high performing," he said of the vivid green E-TENSE concept, "and you know that we’re engaged in the E Formula championship. It's because we believe in hybrid and electric as the technology that provides the right pleasure of driving and at the same time is responsible for the planet," he observed.

DS vehicles are sold in Australia but unlike the car maker's most profitable markets, Europe and China, Aussie DS cars still bear their parent company's badge, Citroen.

The 1800kg DS E-TENSE concept is a rear-drive vehicle with a cruising range of up to 360km thanks to its 53kWh Lithium-ion battery pack. It belts out 300kW and 516Nm and has a top speed of 250km/h.

Unlike the most popular electric cars today, such as the Nissan LEAF and Tesla Model S that have just one forward gear, the E-TENSE features a three-speed gearbox, an element that would give any such production EV a point of difference.

A two-seater concept vehicle like E-TENSE is unquestionably an amplification of what the French luxury car maker is plotting, what with its expensive BRM Chronograph time piece, jagged dashboard motif and hand-crafted leather upholstery that apparently took 800 hours to craft.

"We are a Parisian brand and we are to embody luxury and fashion," insisted Bonnefont when talk turned to the dazzling cabin.

But it's clear the DS supremo is eager to develop a sporty flagship vehicle that employs an electric drivetrain, even if it costs as much as a Lamborghini Huracan.

"This car, if we were to manufacture this car, it would probably be at a price above €250,000. That's the kind of price we're looking at," he revealed, which would convert to around $A400,000.

He parried questions about when we might see the company's first EV, or how daring its design would be, but concluded, "There's a lot more to come, and now is the time for us to accelerate."