Focal Utopia sound system in the DS E-TENSE Performance

No fewer than nine Focal Utopia Speaker Drivers can be found in the latest concept car presented by the automotive group Stelantis for the DS Automobiles brand, the new DS E-TENSE Performance, and here they form the basis of the Focal Utopia sound system. With this vehicle, the Group is delivering on its promise to rapidly move the DS Automobiles brand away from internal combustion engines and towards electric powertrains.

The new DS E-TENSE Performance is thus a so-called Electric GT Concept Car, as the company itself describes it.

DS E-TENSE Performance with Formula E Technology

The new DS E-TENSE Performance is an expression of how DS Automobiles sees the future of its vehicles, both from a technological and design perspective.

DS Automobiles is one of those brands that has already set out a firm roadmap for the shift from combustion engines to electric mobility. From 2024 onwards, every new DS Automobiles vehicle launched on the market is to be fully electric, and one year later, in 2025, all pure combustion engines will be banned from the portfolio.

Of course, it fits in very well with the concept that DS Automobiles, as DS Performance, has been very active in Formula E for years and has even been able to record impressive successes here in recent years. The company even sees itself as a premium manufacturer in Formula E and wants to gradually incorporate the experience gained here into the production of series vehicles.

The design of the new DS E-TENSE Performance already underlines the fact that it draws directly on Formula E technologies. But the use of a carbon shell is another indication of this. To ensure that the new lines really come into their own, the designers rely on an interference color that changes the perception of the hue depending on the lighting conditions and viewing angle.

The DS E-TENSE Performance also presents itself as extremely powerful, as it uses two electric motors for a four-wheel drive, which originate from DS Performance’s development for Formula E and offer 600 kW and 815 hp respectively. With a torque of 516 Nm, this should enable acceleration from zero to 100 km/h in just under two seconds.

By the way, DS Automobiles particularly emphasizes the recuperation power of 600 kW in the new DS E-TENSE Performance, relying almost entirely on the vehicle’s regeneration system for braking. This is made possible, among other things, by the use of a new battery technology. The normal braking system, which is still in place, is thus actually only used for safety purposes.

DS E-TENSE Performance – Electric GT Concept Car with Focal Utopia Sound System

DS Automobiles has been cooperating with the French company Focal JMlabs for years when it comes to developing high-quality in-car entertainment systems. So it goes without saying that Focal-JMlab, alongside other French luxury brands such as Maison Moynat and BRM Chronographes, was also involved in the development of the new DS E-TENSE Performance and designed a very exceptional entertainment system.

Nine Focal Utopia Speaker Drivers

No less than nine Focal Utopia Speaker Drivers are to be found in the new DS E-TENSE Performance, according to the two French companies DS Automobiles and Focal-JMlab. This is to transform the new DS E-TENSE Performance into a concert hall on wheels, whereby not least the E-motors provide for almost no driving noise despite their power, a corresponding sound-insulating glazing of their contributes to the fact that one could enjoy music in all nuances in the vehicle interior.

Special version of the Focal Scala V2 loudspeaker

As part of the collaboration between DS Automobiles and Focal-JMlab around the new DS E-TENSE Performance, the French loudspeaker company also unveiled a special version of the Focal Scala V2 loudspeaker system, also in the vehicle’s special livery, which the companies call Green Ametrine.

Prices and availability

As described, the new DS E-TENSE Performance is unfortunately only a so-called concept car, a prototype that is unlikely to actually find its way onto the road in this form.

Getting to the point

Even if the DS E-TENSE Performance will unfortunately not be available in this form, this exclusive vehicle, specifically the sound system from Focal-JMlab, is a further indication that the cooperation between the two French companies DS Automobiles and Focal JMlab is being accelerated and, with the Focal Utopia sound system, raised to an even higher quality level than before.