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DS 3 Performance launched in Paris – first details of new luxurious hot hatch

Performance model will be 'more like a GT' says DS Automobiles product and development chief

DS Automobiles – the newly-formed luxury arm of PSA Peugeot-Citroen – has unveiled its latest model, the DS 3.

Alongside the revised premium compact car it also launched a new Performance line for the brand, and displayed the first model to be sold under that line, the DS 3 Performance.

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As the images show, the DS 3 has changed only slightly in its metamorphosis from Citroen to DS. Several of the previous model’s styling cues remain – unsurprising perhaps, given that 390,000 have been sold in the model’s first six years on sale.

The floating roof, ‘shark fin’ B-pillar graphic, wide-mounted LED daytime running lights and 3D-style LED taillights remain, but the front end has adopted a new version of DS’s ‘DS wings’ grille design.

The new dual-wing version of the grille was first seen on the Divine DS concept car. Chrome strips underpin the headlights – which themselves now include LED elements in higher trim levels – with a second pair of chrome elements stretching lower in the bumper.

A range of new exterior body and roof colours, graphics, alloy wheels and interior trim finishes add up to millions of new potential combinations from which customers can pick and choose.

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Most exciting though is the DS 3 performance. It isn’t the first fast DS 3 – that honour fell to the Racing model when the car was still badged as a Citroen – but its styling and dynamics should better suit DS Automobiles’ ambitions in the luxury vehicle market.

The chrome-finished DS wings make way for a matte metallic finish, and rather than eye-searing graphics and liberal use of carbonfibre, the DS 3 Performance is altogether more tasteful.

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At the same time, it boasts the same power and torque figures as Peugeot’s most potent 208, the GTi by Peugeot Sport. Its 1.6-litre THP turbocharged petrol develops 205bhp and 221lb ft of torque, which should result in performance figures similar to the Pug’s 6.5sec 0-62mph run and 143mph top speed.

It also uses a Torsen limited-slip differential, with a six-speed manual gearbox and shorter gear ratios than other DS 3s. It’s 15mm lower than its siblings too, with a 26mm wider front track and 14mm wider rear track. 323mm front brake discs with brembo callipers and 249mm rear discs do the stopping.

The interior ambience is a little darker than other DS 3s but a notable inclusion is a set of bewinged bucket seats, similar in design to those in the Peugeot Sport 208.

Despite all this Performance addenda, DS is keen to stress that the DS 3 Performance is not a full-on GTI-style model.

Eric Apode, vice president of product and development at DS Automobiles, told evo that while the DS3 Racing was inspired by Citroen’s WRC campaign, the new DS 3 Performance is ‘absolutely not a sports car – more of a grand tourer’.

A stiffly set-up, track-biased car would jar with the brand’s luxurious image, and while the Performance does leave room for an even hotter model in the DS 3 range, this won’t be a track special either.

The Performance ‘has to be an everyday car,’ said Apode. ‘For city driving, highways, and high speed driving – you can go quickly, but it will be fairly quiet, in the spirit of a GT’. Apode added that the brand will not develop a full sports car model. ‘Out of the question,’ he confirmed.

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