As if responding to the increasing global threat of conflict, French automaker DS has unveiled an armored version of its range-topping executive plug-in gas hybrid.
The move follows its special DS 7 Crossback Élysée built for French President Emmanuel Macron seen in action recently during King Charles’s visit to France. Now there’s a customer version in the shape of the DS 7 Vauban which, like the president’s car, is based on the brand’s DS 7 E-Tense 4x4 300 and features an armored floor, a chassis lengthened by approximately 20cm (8-ins) behind the central pillar and other special equipment to protect occupants.
These features include Aramids, a class of lightweight materials that are resistant to impact and heat, and safety glass to strengthen the vehicle for a VPAM 4 level of ballistics protection. Of course, there’s a multitude of further enhancements available on request for protection, including automatic fire extinguishers, closed-circuit ventilation, siren and intercom, etc.
Its Vauban takes its name from a series of forts built at the end of the 17th century stretching to 12 fortifications across western, northern and eastern borders of France that are now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Marquis Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban supervised more than a hundred forts that are part of cities, standalone or in compounds thoughout France and Europe.
This special vehicle is built by WELP France in Hérimoncourt, after the takeover of part of a former Stellantis site. The first examples will be available from April 2024 although no specific starting prices have yet been released.
