Buick Riviera Concept Coupe (2007)

Car model: Buick Riviera Concept Coupe
Company: Buick Motor Division
Country: Detroit, Michigan, USA

The Buick Riviera, a stunning concept car designed to showcase Buick's new global design direction, made its global debut at Auto Shanghai 2007.

The gullwing Riviera concept coupe was developed with global design input by the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) in China, a design and engineering joint venture between General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC).

The Riviera was introduced today by Rick Wagoner, GM Chairman and CEO, and Hu Maoyuan, SAIC Chairman.

The Riviera has been engineered to accommodate a new hybrid system that will go into production at Shanghai GM, GM's flagship joint venture with SAIC, in 2008.

The fuel-efficient car, which will feature several technological and manufacturing advances, represents the latest achievement of GM and its partners in the promotion and development of alternative propulsion technologies in China.

The design team set out to create a modern global design - not something which could be superficially described as a Chinese car. At the same time, they sought to draw from their heritage outside the automotive industry from classic shapes, concepts and artifacts. They wanted to include a subtle Chinese essence and influence if one looked deeply enough.

A strong influence was the yuanbao, a small curvaceous gold or silver ingot used in ancient China as currency and popular today as a symbol of ancient Chinese prosperity.

"This design was about the East and the West co-existing in harmony. We always wanted to make a global car, to take a sense of the Buick DNA and create something for the world," Shyr said.

"It is so wonderful that our designers can take some of the rich culture behind them and make it international. East, West, Buick, China - there's no missing piece in the puzzle in here. Riviera has captured the essence of Buick - grace, gesture, form and emotion."