The new Buick Riviera concept has made its global debut at the auto show being held in Shanghai. The car has been developed by Shanghai GM and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) joint venture (JV).
The concept vehicle is powered by a plug-in electric hybrid powertrain.
“The new Riviera offers a preview of Buick’s future design language,” said Shanghai GM President Ye Yongming. “By seamlessly integrating advanced technologies, flexible functions and contemporary aesthetics, the new Riviera heralds the start of a new chapter for the 110-year-old Buick brand.”
GM says that the designers of the new Riviera got inspired by Chinese saying: “The greatest good is like water.”
“Riviera is a design study of the future expression of Buick design with its elegant athletic shape, sculptural beauty, and precision execution,” said Ed Welburn, GM vice president of global design. “It is a great opportunity to share Buick’s future design language and technology strategy.” The new Riviera has a low drag coefficient. The interiors of the car make use of materials such as sand-blasted aluminum alloy, lava suede and ebony.
The new Riviera comes with BIP (Buick Intelligent Performance) technology and is equipped with a dual-mode W-PHEV (wireless plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) propulsion system. The car can be charged either using a cable or wirelessly. The new Riviera also gets intelligent four-wheel steering, an electromagnetic-controlled suspension and an air spring package.
The car is also high on active-safety features and gets high tech syestems such as the forward-looking active safety system that collects traffic information through 10 high-resolution cameras and 18 micro sensors.
The car come with a gamut of driver assist functions such as an eagle view record system, night view assist, side blind-zone alert system, lane departure warning system, full-speed range-adaptive cruise control system, lane change assist system, parking assist system, rear cross-traffic alert system and autopilot system.