Buick blings it up on the Riviera

Notwithstanding with the fact that it uses Tiger Woods as its public face, GM's Buick marque has a somewhat frumpy brand identity in the US.

With a line-up of vehicles known as the LaCrosse, Lucerne, Rainier, Rendezvous and Terraza, it's hardly surprising the nameplate isn't synonymous with being hip and cool. What's more, none of the aforementioned cars look particularly good either.

But here's a sign that the tide could be turning. Pictured alongside is the stunning Riviera concept, which evokes a model name that was a byword for cutting-edge style in the 1960s and early 1970s. In fact, the boattail model (also pictured), marketed in the early 1970s, was considered among the most striking and influential products of their era.

The new-age Riviera concept made its debut at the recent Shanghai motor show and was developed with global design input by the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) in China.

A joint project between GM and SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation), the Riviera design study was unveiled by GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and SAIC chairman Hu Maoyuan.

In case you're wondering about the Buick/China connection, it's worth pointing out here that Buick is the No 1 brand in the world's most populous nation and GM sold 665,000 cars and trucks (wearing Buick and Chevy badges) in China last year, even though sales have been languishing in its US home market.

For now, only 1 in 100 Chinese own a car, compared to 9 in 10 in the United States, but estimates suggest that a staggering 130 million vehicles will be sold in China by 2020.

Getting back to the Riviera, it dispenses with the staid styling of existing Buicks in favour of a bold, aggressive profile. It also features huge gullwing doors that measure nearly two metres at their widest point, providing access to both front and rear seats.

In contrast to the clamshell-style headlights introduced in the mid-1960s, the LED headlights of the new show car appear to float above a modern interpretation of Buick's classic waterfall grille.  

In an interestingly gimmicky touch, opening the gullwing doors results in puddle lights illuminating the ground and spelling out "Buick".

The body is fabricated from carbonfibre for two reasons: firstly, it keeps weight down, and secondly, because this material supposedly enabled the designers to sculpt the Riviera's complex contours.

GM officials say the Riviera won't make it to production, but they suggest its design language provides clues to future Buick offerings. Bring it on, we say...

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