While the public at large continues to fawn over the concept of a new Buick sports coupe in general, we decided to take a closer look at interior of the Buick Avista here at the 2016 North American International Auto Show.
Liz Wetzel, lead interior design director for the Avista concept, was kind enough to give us a walk through of the interior design, and provide more details on what inspired the overall look and feel for such a concept.
Foremost, sand, wind and waves really shaped the look and feel of the Buick Avista’s interior. Wetzel specifically told us the way wind creates flowing shapes of sand movement was a focal point. The repetitive wind patterns were meant to provide the feeling of “being at ease” inside the vehicle.
But, for all of the flowing lines and calm shapes, this is a performance concept. So, we asked how the Avista portrays the enthusiast inside. And that’s where the 3D printer came in handy.
Wetzel told us the 3D printed details inside were layered all over the cabin to provide a very technical look atop the flowing lines. Her buzzwords constantly routed back to “clean”, “modern” and “dynamic”.
And rightfully so. The interior reveals itself as a true driver’s car upon closer inspection. There’s a reason genuine aluminum and carbon fiber is exposed throughout the cabin. Even the steering wheel was chosen to continue an “efficient” design. The wheel allows just enough of an opening for the driver to read the entire digital display cluster.
It really takes a careful eye to reveal where those flowing lines and dynamic shapes are. Luckily, Wetzel said more of these shapes and ideas will continue to trickle into future production Buick vehicles in the future.
Comments
She and her design team truly hit the mark with the Avista concept that emphasizes her 3 words–clean, modern, dynamic. When I look at the interiors of German and Japanese cars, especially the instrumentation and center stacks, I’m struck by how busy they are and monitors that stick out and interrupt the visual aesthetic. The entire Avista design teams deserve gold medals for their truly exquisite work. Let’s hope the GM brass honor them by putting this concept into production and into the hands of a driving public longing for GM creativity to raise the bar among a sea of banal and mundane automotive designs. This Avista concept captures the American driving lifestyle of the perfect ride.
It’s absolutely a gorgeous car. I should be built immediately, but of course, it won’t be.