These illustrations are made by Francois Hubert/SB-Medien for CarScoops. They are speculative drawings based on DS’s Aero Lounge Concept and are not endorsed by the DS brand.

Bugatti aside (and that’s really German, isn’t it?), these days we tend to associate French brands with little economy cars, but that wasn’t always the case. Go back to the middle of the last century (yeah, a long time, I know) and mixed in with the humble Citroen 2CV and Renault 4 peasants’ cars were exotic machines from Delahaye, Talbot-Lago and Facel Vega.

Stellantis wants us to put the idea of French luxury back on the agenda with the DS brand, whose name plays on the iconic Citroen DS of the 1950s and ’60s, another classic French luxury icon.

The modern DS brand first appeared as a Citroen-badged DS 3 supermini in 2009, before being spun-off as a separate range in 2015. There’s been no overnight success story, and though sales are growing in Europe, they’re still no serious threat to BMW, Audi and Mercedes.

The Idea Behind the DS 9 Crossback Coupe-Crossover

Illustration credits and copyright Jean Francois Hubert/SB-Medien for CarScoops

But maybe that’s about to change. Not with the launch of the DS 9 saloon, which may find a few buyers in China but will be as rare a sight as a supercar in Europe and depreciate like used toilet paper. That may happen with the arrival of the stunning new DS 4 hatchback, and the DS 4’s big brother, the car we’re calling the DS 9 Crossoback though it could also get the DS 9 Auto Sport Lounge (or ASL for short) moniker after the concept to differentiate itself.

Related: All-New DS 4 Debuts With Striking Looks, And An Interior That Demands Your Attention

The current DS 4 provides clues to how the DS9 Crossback could look

Beyond a few references to being interested in building a bigger SUV, and making use of the upcoming eVMP electric platform for larger cars, DS has said little publicly about its planned SUV flagship. But knowing what we do know about DS’s ambitions, about its current production cars and recent concepts, and about the new hardware coming online in the Stellantis ecosystem, it’s not hard to build a picture of what to expect when the covers come off, most likely in late 2023 or early 2024.

What Will The DS9 ASL Look Like?

Most obviously the DS 9 Crossback will be a crossover, because that’s what the market demands. And our biggest clues how it might look come from the 2020 Aero Sport Lounge concept and the new DS4 production car that followed it. While DS made no claims that the ASL directly previewed a production car, the firm’s design chief, Thierry Metroz, did confirm at the time that the concept was “a prelude to our next creations”.

The DS Aero Sport Lounge Concept was supposed to have its world premiere at the cancelled 2020 Geneva Motor Show

The ASL concept seen in the images above was a dynamic coupe-like crossover with an extremely low roofline and tiny rear window. It featured giant 23-inch wheels (the production SUV’s will be smaller) and measured 5 meters (197 inches) in length, making it a fairly imposing machine. Adding to that curb presence was a unique front-end design showcasing DS’s light veil concept, which it has already said will make it to future road cars.

Inside, the ASL that’s pictured above did away with traditional dashboard screens, replacing them with a pair of strips, one of which projected images onto the other. It’s an innovative concept, and an admirable attempt to escape the tyranny of the touchscreen, but it’s too wacky to escape the show stand, and the rearward opening ‘coach’ rear doors won’t make the cut either. But other tech like the digital door mirrors and focus on sustainable materials are very likely to make it to the showroom.

The other car that gives us an indication as to how the DS 9 Crossback might look is the DS 4 production car that followed the ASL and was clearly inspired by the same thinking. Designed to compete with cars like the BMW 1-Series, it’s naturally more conservative than the ASL inside and out, but it’s not hard to imagine a scaled-up version with a more flamboyant interior.

What’s Under The Skin?

The DS 9 saloon introduced in some markets last year runs on the older EMP2 platform found under everything from the Citroen C4 SpaceTourer MPV (previously known as the Picasso, but clearly the art world’s a fickle one), to the DS7 Crossback.

However, we think the DS 9 SUV will ride on the new eVMP architecture developed by PSA before its merger with FCA. Created specifically for medium and large cars, the Electric Vehicle Modular Platform is designed for front- and four-wheel drive layouts and can be configured either as a pure EV, or a petrol-electric hybrid.

It can handle outputs of up to 250 kW (335 hp) and take battery packs ranging from 60 to 100 kWh depending on the wheelbase to give a WLTP driving range of between 250 and 404 miles (402-650 km). And since the DS 9 Crossback should have a near 3-meter (118-inch) wheelbase, potentially giving the option of a third row of seats, we’d expect the driving range to hit the high end of that scale.

The DS Aero Sport Lounge concept, by the way, featured a powertrain based on the one used by the DS Techeetah Formula E single-seater. Comprising a 671 hp electric motor mated to a 110 kWh battery, it was claimed to be good for 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 2.8 seconds. But despite DS’s keenness to build on its current status as Formula E champions, we’d be surprised if the production car was quite that quick.

How Much Will The DS9 ASL Cost?

Citroen is still trying to undo the damage of years cultivating a bargain image, but with no baggage holding it back, DS has been able to be punchy with its prices.

In the UK the smaller DS 7 SUV pictured above costs between £32,370 (equal to $45,590 at the time of writing) and £56,075 ($78,980), while the DS 9 sedan is priced from £40,600 ($57,180) to £49,200 ($69,295). That suggests a £45-65k ($63k-$92k) range as a reasonable ballpark for the DS 9 Crossback. That would also make the DS 9 SUV among the most expensive of all European Stellantis products.

What Are Its Rivals?

DS has Germany’s premium brands in its crosshairs, which means the DS 9 Crossback will have to face off against the likes of the Mercedes GLE Coupe and BMW X6 and possibly Japan’s Lexus RX, all of which are available with hybrid power. But the top-spec EV versions will also have to deal with the new-generation of pure-electric premium SUVs like the BMW iX and Mercedes EQC.

Those are some pretty big names with some seriously desirable badges. Do you think DS can persuade buyers it’s worthy of comparison? Let us know in the comments.

Illustration credits and copyright Jean Francois Hubert/SB-Medien for CarScoops