Buick Just Unveiled the Electra Orbit, One of Its Boldest Concepts

Buick is a great American premium car brand that has fallen on hard times in recent years, reduced to selling undistinguished SUVs in the U.S. In China, the brand’s situation is quite different, and its latest concept there is one of its boldest in years.

Buick unveiled the all-electric Electra Orbit this week, and the car is almost 18 feet long and over six feet wide in proportions that would befit a luxury halo car. The wheels are 24 inches wide. The scissor doors open vertically, like a Lamborghini Countach, and there is an active aerodynamics system, including an active rear-wing, to increase downforce when needed or decrease drag when needed, to optimize grip and also efficiency. The car’s rear is perhaps its most dramatic feature, since it’s elongated and generally prominent, which was a design choice but also an aerodynamic choice.

Inside, there is a yoke instead of a steering wheel and a screen that stretches across the dashboard. The car, including the yoke, will also reconfigure itself depending on whether it’s being driven or whether it’s in an autonomous mode.

The car won’t be coming to dealerships here or anywhere anytime soon—or ever—but it proves that Buick can still create something interesting.

“By reinterpreting space-age motifs and pushing electric-architecture freedoms, we wanted to create a concept that feels both familiar in its Buick DNA and thrillingly new,” Stuart Norris, a GM vice president, said in a statement.

Buick’s concepts have been quite good for a little while now, perhaps a function of a division that doesn’t have the full attention of GM executives, or perhaps a function of a need to compete in Asia where cars are getting more sophisticated almost by the minute.

It would be a nice turn of events for Buick to bring some of this energy home, for a brand here that only sells SUVs to customers looking for the path of least resistance or the best deal on something slightly better than a Chevy Trax. The smart money says that isn’t happening soon, because GM has always seemingly had bigger priorities. But if GM ever changes its mind, it already has a lot of in-house inspiration to draw from.

Click here for more photos of the Buick Electra Orbit.

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