China’s EV market is so massive that it comes as no surprise that the Auto China 2020 was dominated by the EV concepts. The one we’re seeing here is the Electra concept from Buick. According to the company, it previews Buick’s next-generation design language for electric vehicles. It was developed by GM’s Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) automotive engineering and design joint venture in Shanghai.
The Electra sports a new ‘potential energy’ design language with a sculpted front fascia and side profile. The paintwork is sort of a gradient that transitions from a silver tone at the front to a dark silver shade towards the rear, emphasizing the idea of “moving tension”. The butterfly wing doors, the “breathing” front and rear Matrix LED lights, and 23-inch wheels round off the Electra’s futuristic look. Also, the rear bumper hides a skateboard in order to expand users’ personal mobility options.
Access to the cabin is granted via facial recognition. It’s all minimalistic inside, but thankfully, there’s some kind of a “steering wheel” for manual control. However, it is retractable, suggesting a certain level of automated driving capability. The zero-gravity environment as Buick calls it, features suspended seats and a large, floating, curved display, which all create an illusion of zero gravity inside the cabin. Controlling the features, such as HMI interaction and air conditioning happens via an intelligent AI Voice Assistant.
The Electra utilizes GM’s Ultium battery technology that we read about earlier this year. The battery pack powers two electric motors, one at each axle, developing a combined output of 591 hp (435 kW). A 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint is claimed to happen in 4.3 seconds. Lastly, the Electra boasts a range of over 660 km (410 mi) on a single charge.
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