  The archetypal model for the recently discovered dark energy component of the
universe is based on the existence of a scalar field whose dynamical evolution
comes down today to a non-vanishing cosmological constant. In the past - before
big-bang nucleosynthesis for that matter - that scalar field could have gone
through a period of kination during which the universe has expanded at a much
higher pace than what is currently postulated in the standard radiation
dominated cosmology. I examine here the consequences of such a period of
kination on the relic abundance of neutralinos and find that the latter could
be much higher - by three orders of magnitude - than what is estimated in the
canonical derivation. I shortly discuss the implications of this scenario for
the dark matter candidates and their astrophysical signatures.
  This new version contains a discussion - see section 2 - of the overshooting
problem and offers perspectives to reconcile an initial period of violent
kination with the existence of a cosmological constant today.
