DS readying BMW 5 Series rival

DS is secretly developing a new premium sedan designed specifically to steal sales from Audi's A6 and the BMW 5 Series.

The unnamed models is believed to be just one of six DS vehicles in development that will subsequently be launched consecutively over the next six years.

Publicly, the Citroen-owned brand has not confirmed the existence of a 5 Series challenger yet but, according to Autocar, an insider has confirmed it's on the way.

The company source, speaking to the Brit mag, says the new sedan will be "comparable in every way to the BMW 5 Series" when it emerges in 2020.

Set to be based on PSA's EMP2 platform, the new DS flagship passenger car will be jointly developed with both the Peugeot 508 and the next-generation Opel Insignia.

Likely to be offered with both front- and all-wheel drive, the DS sedan will share much with the DS 7 Crossback. The new SUV is also likely to donate its new plug-in hybrid tech.

That means the DS flagship will come equipped with a 147kW petrol engine that's combined with two 80kW electric motors plus a 13kWh lithium-ion battery.

Together the system produces 221kW -- enough for a 0-100km/h time in the lighter sedan of around five seconds.

Set to feature a pure-electric range of more than 60km, the sedan will also get the French car-maker's latest semi-autonomous cruise control that can stop, steer and brake the car at speeds up to 180km/h.

Maximising comfort will be a development of the DS 7's Active Scan Suspension that 'reads' the road ahead using cameras to prime the dampers for bumps and other road imperfections.