To meet the security requirements of the President of the Republic, DS supplied the Élysée Service with a specially lengthened and armoured DS 7. In order to create this ceremonial vehicle, the Parisian brand approached the armour specialist Welp, which led to a partnership for the launch of a small series of armoured DS 7s.
This new armoured DS 7, rightly named Vauban after the fortress built at the end of the 17th century, is the fruit of the excellent work carried out on the DS 7 Élysée, which apparently met with a great deal of enthusiasm, justifying the development of a special offer embodied by this DS 7 Vauban. It is not a question of a wheelbase extended by 20 cm as for the DS 7 Elysée, but of offering a version of the DS 7 E-Tense, developing an output of 300 hp, equipped with aramid, a class of materials that is light and particularly resistant to impact and heat, and safety glass that reinforces the vehicle to achieve a VPAM 4 level of protection, making it capable of withstanding shots of up to calibre 357 Magnum and 44 Magnum.
The upholstery is supervised by saddlers to ensure an exemplary level of refinement, all the more so as DS offers, in addition to the existing optional equipment, sets of specific options that allow the DS 7 to be equipped with additional protection (automatic fire extinguishers, closed-circuit ventilation, siren or intercom, etc.), passenger comfort (additional USB sockets, reading lights, etc.) or vehicle personalisation (body colours, interior trim, embroidery, flag holders).
With this new armouring offer, DS is responding to the needs of premium customers who want to maximise their safety, a segment in which the brand has been absent. However, DS has chosen armour that is strong enough to resist bullets, but light enough not to affect the vehicle's handling. A new offer for the DS 7, which will be available from April 2024.