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Buick Avista Concept

The Buick Avista Concept was a two-door concept car from General Motors’ Buick brand that debuted in 2016.

Overview

The Avista concept is a 2+2 coupe that “pushes the brand’s contemporary design ethos and rekindles its historic performance roots”.

The concept’s low-slung proportions serve as the foundation for the grand tourer, while a driver-focused cockpit offering a comfortable, connected center of control. It’s powered by a twin-turbocharged V6 engine making 400-horsepower sending power to the rear wheels.

“The Avista embodies the dynamic soul of Buick,” said Duncan Aldred, vice president of Global Buick Sales, Service and Marketing. “It is a modern expression of the brand’s heritage of sophisticated performance, communicated with beautiful elegance.”

Exterior

The exterior design of the Buick Avista concept is defined by premium and sporty feel, with uninterrupted body lines that stretch front to rear. The design suggests motion and resembles the design language introduced on the Buick Avenir concept one year ago, which was most recently reflected in the 2017 LaCrosse. The body is painted in a vibrant blue Buick refers to as Super Blue.

The Avista’s general design reflects its sporty, rear-drive configuration thanks to the long axle-to-dash ratio, long hood, and rearward cab placement. What’s more, the vehicle does not have conventional B-pillars between the doors and rear side windows, enhancing the flowing profile.

“There is elegant simplicity in the Avista’s surfaces, which speak to the purity of the car’s performance, and a timeless beauty that’s a hallmark of Buick design,” said Bryan Nesbitt, executive director Global Buick Design. “It was designed to capture the spirit of the perfect drive.”

A front three quarters view of the Buick Avista concept at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Marking the front and rear are evolved signature wing-shaped lighting with “soft curtain” elements that create illuminated “halos” around the edges of the lamps, suggesting a three-dimensional shape and sculpture. Front fender vents with chrome accents that evolve Buick’s signature fender ports.

Their design forecasts the evolution of Buick’s production lighting features, while the Avista’s grille features the brand’s new winged tri-shield insignia set against a three-dimensional mesh background.

The concept car rides on a 110.7-inch (2,811 mm) wheelbase and features tracks measuring 63 inches (1,601 mm) in the front and 62.9 inches (1,598 mm) in the rear, delivering sporty proportions and an aggressive stance. 20-inch aluminum wheels with color-toned accents match the car’s Dark Sapphire Jewel exterior.

Interior

Like the exterior, the Avista’s 2+2 interior is defined by flowing, uninterrupted lines conveying elegance through simplicity via a modern, performance-oriented cockpit. Intense technical and surface details can be seen in everything from 3D-printed door and seat trim to a future vision of Buick’s IntelliLink infotainment system, with touchscreen controls on a widescreen instrument panel display.

Touchscreen controls are incorporated into the center console, which extends to the rear seating area. Open side storage compartments built into the front of the console are enabled by the new Electronic Precision Shift, similar to the system found on the 2017 Buick LaCrosse.

A Superior Blue foundation color echoes the exterior and is complemented with Mist Gray leather seating inserts, console trim and door trim. Exposed carbon fiber and aluminum accents throughout reinforce the precision of the performance-oriented driving experience. Buick says that the fading pattern on the seats, console and doors were inspired by waves receding at a beach’s edge.

“Waves, whether from the sea or in the sand, are all about motion and flow,” said Buick design director Bryan Nesbitt. “That’s exactly what this concept is all about – flowing design and the purity of the driving experience.”

The concept features next-generation QuietTuning and air-quality control, including advanced noise cancellation technology, ionic air purifiers and aromatherapy.

Powertrain

The Buick Avista concept is powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0L V6 engine. Though Buick does not confirm details, an educated guess suggests that the motor is none other than GM’s turbocharged 3.0L V6 LGW.

The motor features several fuel-saving technologies, including Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation) and Stop/Start technology to complement its power with efficiency. The engine is backed by an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Chassis

The only detail provided by GM about the chassis of the Buick Avista concept is that it features Magnetic Ride Control for more precise body motion control.

However, we would speculate that a production version of the vehicle, which never came to be, rides on GM’s rear-drive Alpha platform shared with the first-gen Cadillac ATS, third-gen Cadillac CTS, and sixth-gen 2016 Chevrolet Camaro. Note that this has not been confirmed nor denied by Buick.

Reveal

The Buick Avista Concept was revealed at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 10th, 2016.

Naming

Avista means at sight in Italian.

General Motors filed an application to register the Avista trademark on September 22nd, 2015.

Production

The Buick Avista was never brought to production. Instead, it served as a conceptual design study for other Buick models.

If GM did decide to make the Avista a production vehicle, we would expect it to ride on the Alpha platform and be powered by the 3.0L V6 LGW engine.

Photos

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