SPIED: DS7 seen undisguised; autonomous tech?

Just as the upcoming DS 7 has been spotted undergoing winter testing, images of a completely undisguised example has surfaced ahead of its expected official debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, courtesy of Citroen fan blog Citronfeng.

It appears to draw design cues from the Citroen Wild Rubis concept at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show, and is set to go head-to-head with German premium contenders such as the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and the Mercedes-Benz GLC.

Riding on Groupe PSA’s EMP2 platform which already underpins the likes of the Peugeot 308, Citroen C4 Picasso and Grand C4 Picasso, the upcoming DS 7 will be the crowning model in the brand’s line-up, and it wears a design theme distinct from the DS 3, DS 4 and DS 5 model lines.

When it arrives on the market, the upcoming DS 7 SUV is expected to be the technology benchmark for Groupe PSA; as shown by another leaked image above, it suggests the DS 7 will feature a certain level of autonomous technology. It is also set to be the group’s first product to be sold with the new 1.5 litre diesel DVR engine and its first plug-in hybrid powertrain, according to a report by Autocar. At the top of the range, a Performance model is expected to come with around 240 bhp.

The DS range is also expected to spearhead more advancements further down the line; the enxt-generation DS 3 and its equivalent SUV are expected to spawn all-electric powertrains, which will be the first to be built on the new CMP platform that is being developed with partner and part-owner, Dongfeng, the report added.

“We are not worried by selling fewer cars, as long as profits are rising. You cannot build a premium brand overnight and you cannot build it by selling high volumes of cars at high discounts. We have a job to do, and if that means reducing volumes slightly, that is okay,” Groupe PSA chief Carlos Tavares told Autocar.