Buick pulled the veil from its Avenir concept at a special event in Detroit last night, giving us more than just a glimpse into the future of the automaker’s progressive styling and cabin technology integration. The Avenir’s sporty, expressive design is its centerpiece, but it’s what’s hiding beneath the sculpted bodywork that has us most excited.
The Avenir appears to ride on General Motors’ all-new, rear-wheel drive Omega platform, set to underpin the highly anticipated 2016 Cadillac CT6. As GM product chief Mark Reuss revealed late last year, the CT6 will be eight-inches longer than the current mid-size CTS, but will be a surprising 24 kg lighter. This is partly enabled by the mixed material body structure that the Omega platform will incorporate, which uses aluminum and steel stampings and castings to reduce the amount of parts used by 20 percent. One example of the aluminum usage, which we observed, makes itself known in the A pillars, B pillars, and door jambs.
While we like the mechanical, exposed metal look that the Buick Avenir concept subtly displays, it’s unlikely such a design element will make it to either the Cadillac CT6 or a production version of the Avenir, should that ever happen. But the material usage will likely remain. The CT6 will also use aluminum body panels mixed in with other material usage thought the body to further reduce weight, keeping it in the 3,700-4,100 pound realm, reportedly.
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