Just days after Buick’s 110th birthday, General Motors has unveiled a new Buick Riviera Concept that it says demonstrates “Buick’s future design language and technology strategy.”
The sleek two-door sporty hybrid combines a classic fastback design with modern technology and aesthetics. Intriguingly, the GM press release announcing the Riviera Concept equates the vehicles bodylines with communism, saying: “The new Riviera’s designers took inspiration from the Chinese saying: ‘The greatest good is like water.’ The vehicle’s sweeping design, which goes from thick to thin, has the vibrant nature of a moving river embodied in its athletic shape, elegant ambience and deeply sculpted lines.”
GM says a lot in its introductory release on the Riviera. It doesn’t say much, though, about what it calls the “wireless plug-in hybrid electric” drivetrain. From what we’ve been able to gather, the powertrain is a plug-in hybrid unit akin to that of the Cadillac ELR. Distinctively, the Riviera will be charged either by wired plug in or by induction, with energy sent to the vehicle by way of magnetic waves.
The technology continues onto the interior where GM says the Riviera offers a 4G LTE network, which supports “real-time traffic information, weather updates, and news and entertainment while communicating with other vehicles.”
While the infotainment tech might seem ordinary, the Riviera has been fitted with a new forward-looking safety system that used 10 high-resolution cameras and 10 micro high-precision sensors to create a holographic image that is projected onto the windshield.
Near the end of its release GM flippantly references an “autopilot” system in the Riviera Concept but gives no further details. We’ve reached out to a GM representative for more details so check back soon.
