Future classic: DS N°8

By Aaron McKay

| 6 Aug 2026

Classic & Sports Car – Future classic: DS N°8

Even a company as technically progressive, richly eccentric and confident in its identity as Citroën was doomed to struggle under the weight of the genius of the Déesse.

The DS19 introduced in 1955 was indeed a ‘new Nautilus’ in car design and function, turning its pre-war origins into a promised new age of mechanical mastery and post-austerity convenience.

Inevitably, irresistibly, Citroën drove on with an increasingly improbable line of big saloons in the image of the Goddess, leading the way to a separate DS brand in 2009. This N°8 now heads up the ranges of both.

You can sense the influence of the Citroën DS in the new DS N°8

The CX was an electronic, aerodynamic and even more quirky DS replacement in 1974, contrasting the slightly subdued XM that foreshadowed the rational economics of the 21st century.

The daring C6 of 2005 was another surprise large saloon, perfect for shuttling otherwise bereft French politicians and its small, devoted international community of DS legacy fans.

Much less of a surprise was that it sold in modest numbers – just 23,384 to 2012.

Despite questionable success, the C6 showed not only Citroën’s determination to furnish the world with its vision of luxury in an ever-more-Germanic marketplace, but also a commitment to the marque’s eccentric identity.

The DS N°8’s cabin has neat features, but not all are functional – like this starburst-effect lighting

The N°8 is not likely to sell in great droves, much like its strangely nondescript DS9 predecessor, but its bold styling and divergent approach to luxury will endear it to those who have always celebrated the big Citroën lineage.

A low roofline and sharp ends are rationalised in classically Gallic fashion as perfectly sensible aerodynamic forms that help flow and slice the air respectively, turning a conventional crossover shape into something that belongs in a French version of Blade Runner.

Front lights fall like fangs below subtly sunken main lamp units, while clever aero-geometry at the rear resolves itself into a crisp fastback tail.

The DS N°8 focuses on an electric future while staying in touch with Citroën’s heritage

Inside is a vast board of silver trim angled over a floating cushion of leather, setting the scene for intriguing, sometimes pointless details – see the oddly shaped, quad-spoke wheel and starburst-effect lighting on the console.

To drive, it is quiet and calming, as it wafts along mostly aloof to misdirected commands of urgency.

This range-topping, twin-motor Étoile version never feels rapid, only brisk, and is better defined by its radar-assisted suspension – although, sadly, there are no hydropnuematics here.

Traditionalists will find comfort in the obscure brake-pedal feel, but this car is about something less tangible.

Its smaller siblings are the workhorses of the DS brand, but this odd flagship is free to revel in the joy of being different for the sake of it.

Images: John Bradshaw