Buick News: Buick Enspire Concept Makes Its Debut in China

[William Maley]

Describing a Buick as being bold seems somewhat strange, but the Enspire concept that debuted today in China is just that. Describing a Buick as being bold seems somewhat strange, but the Enspire concept that debuted today in China is just that.

The overall shape is very different from Buick's current crossover lineup with a pronounced front end, deep cuts in the bumper, cameras mounted where the side-view mirrors would be, flared-out rear fenders, and a sharply raked rear end. The only interior shot provided by Buick is of the front. It looks very futuristic with the dash wrapped in microfiber suede and wood trim, OLED display, and a heads-up display featuring augmented reality technology.

Power comes from Buick's eMotion electric powertrain producing 410 kW (about 550 horsepower). 0-60 mph is said to take about 4 seconds. On a single charge, Buick claims the Enspire can travel up to 370 miles. The concept supports both fast and wireless charging - the former providing an 80 percent charge within 40 minutes.

Buick will be showing off the Enspire concept at Auto China 2018 in Beijing later this month.

Source: Buick

Enspire All-Electric Concept SUV Debuts in China

• Sculptural beauty meets advanced battery electric technology in Chinese concept SUV

WUZHEN, China — The Buick Enspire all-electric concept SUV, an exploration of Buick’s bold design ideas and innovative technologies for future mobility, made its global debut in China. Key features include:

Experience Features:

• Exterior feature lines and advanced aerodynamics accentuate the exterior’s strong, sculptural look.
• A “surround skyline” interior theme and suspended theater-type seating give the Enspire a bright and spacious interior.
• The center console and armrests are made from natural wood grain and microfiber suede.
• Cutting-edge technologies include an OLED display screen and an intelligent augmented reality technology-based head-up display system.
• 5G super high-speed network concept.

Performance Features:

• Buick’s eMotion electric propulsion technology generates a maximum power of 410 kW, enabling the concept to sprint from 0-60 mph in 4 seconds. 
• The Enspire is able to travel up to 370 miles on a single charge.
• Supports both fast and wireless charging — the battery can be charged to 80 percent of capacity within 40 minutes.

The Enspire all-electric concept SUV will be on display at Auto China 2018 in Beijing from April 25 to May 4.

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[David]

 Love this concept, This is futuristic and hot!   

If this is the EV concept they said they would reveal based on the Bolt, then the battery pack range is in line with the LG announcements of denser batteries that could go into the bolt. It would also seem a more powerful motor.

This is very exciting. I really like the body style. Talk about a very fresh clean break from the past with this concept.

This also makes me think of where Cadillac will be going with their interior refresh auto's to come.

I know that some members will bash it due to being an EV or for the black plastic over the wheel wells and other places, but this is top notch when you compare to other EV Concepts shown so far by German or Asian companies.

[riviera74]

How much of the concept will make it to production of an actual vehicle we can buy or lease?  That is my only Q.

[David]

1 hour ago, riviera74 said:

How much of the concept will make it to production of an actual vehicle we can buy or lease?  That is my only Q.

Japan is the only country globally that has approved cameras for side mirrors that would just show everything on a large LCD screen inside. So real Mirrors will be there, otherwise I can see just about everything else making it.

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, riviera74 said:

How much of the concept will make it to production of an actual vehicle we can buy or lease?  That is my only Q.

I see it looking VERY different come production.

That interior will be 99% different.

I don't see them using a blue grille and the rear doors don't look like you could fit a regular shoe in there pointed forward it's so narrow. 

[smk4565]

I think the body looks ugly, but sign me up for the powertrain all day long.  550 hp, 40 minute recharge and 370 mile range is impressive stuff.

[balthazar]

Wow- that's a full second quicker to 60 and a whopping 120 mile longer range than the merecedes EQA concept!

Edited April 17, 2018 by balthazar

[smk4565]

41 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Wow- that's a full second quicker to 60 and a whopping 120 mile longer range than the merecedes EQA concept!

It is, and when does this Buick go on sale?  And it isn't like Mercedes is offering one level of electric horsepower, there will be AMG electric cars.

[Robert Hall]

42 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

It is, and when does this Buick go on sale?  And it isn't like Mercedes is offering one level of electric horsepower, there will be AMG electric cars.

Does M-B actually have any electric cars on sale right now?  It's just a lot of talk and concepts at this point...

[ocnblu]

I find it interesting how boring this thing is.  Does zero for me.

[smk4565]

1 hour ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Does M-B actually have any electric cars on sale right now?  It's just a lot of talk and concepts at this point...

Not now, but in 2019 they will.  And it is a conventional looking crossover which is what buyers want, and I think arriving at the right time.

[balthazar]

Yea, MB has a trickle of hybrid / -e cars, 3 or 4 models by the charts, but NObody buys 'em. And they're QUITE 'conventional' looking.

[David]

3 hours ago, smk4565 said:

It is, and when does this Buick go on sale?  And it isn't like Mercedes is offering one level of electric horsepower, there will be AMG electric cars.

Probably on sale around the same date if not sooner than the AMG EV. 

This is being built on the BOLT Powertrain / platform. China Auto show I suspect will show many near production ready versions of EV for the China market first and then Globally.

Bolt already can be built with a more powerful motor and LG has the battery pack that would support the miles stated here already.

Interesting times we live in as we move into a more EV market.

2 hours ago, ocnblu said:

I find it interesting how boring this thing is.  Does zero for me.

Your exploding orgasmically inside but just not willing to show anyone. I know the truth!

 

[David]

 

[ocnblu]

7 hours ago, dfelt said:

Probably on sale around the same date if not sooner than the AMG EV. 

This is being built on the BOLT Powertrain / platform. China Auto show I suspect will show many near production ready versions of EV for the China market first and then Globally.

Bolt already can be built with a more powerful motor and LG has the battery pack that would support the miles stated here already.

Interesting times we live in as we move into a more EV market.

Your exploding orgasmically inside but just not willing to show anyone. I know the truth!

 

No but I did throw up a little bit in my mouth. 

[David]

18 hours ago, ccap41 said:

I see it looking VERY different come production.

That interior will be 99% different.

I don't see them using a blue grille and the rear doors don't look like you could fit a regular shoe in there pointed forward it's so narrow. 

@balthazar @Cubical-aka-Moltar @oldshurst442

Check out this full video on the Enspire, the doors are Suicide doors and the interior is really cool. Love the grill and Love it in White. Clearly very cool CUVs. Way more details on this Chinese Video on the CUV EV Concepts.

This Video has me even more Jazzed about the EV CUV.

I also would like to request the lady to come with my Enspire!  

[ccap41]

Don't get too excited about it.. None of that will make it to production.. The powertrain will and that seems about it. 

[David]

8 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Don't get too excited about it.. None of that will make it to production.. The powertrain will and that seems about it. 

If Lincoln can make the current continental have Suicide doors, I see no reason that Buick cannot do it.

[Drew Dowdell]

That blue grille would be a fantastic departure from the norm.  Small change, big difference on looks. 

I'd buy one of these just so I could get it painted like....

[ocnblu]

Pained is right, sheesh

[riviera74]

Second Q: when will Buick go all electric rather than ICE?

[Robert Hall]

3 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

Second Q: when will Buick go all electric rather than ICE?

In the future. 

[balthazar]

Ohhh, about the year 2050.

[ocnblu]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Ohhh, about the year 2050.

Too soon

[oldshurst442]

9 hours ago, dfelt said:

@balthazar @Cubical-aka-Moltar @oldshurst442

Check out this full video on the Enspire, the doors are Suicide doors and the interior is really cool. Love the grill and Love it in White. Clearly very cool CUVs. Way more details on this Chinese Video on the CUV EV Concepts.

This Video has me even more Jazzed about the EV CUV.

I also would like to request the lady to come with my Enspire!  

 Cool concepts and visions with this electric vehicle. I do have a warm and fuzzy feeling for the future if its depicted this way. I also fear the future for those very same ideas that were presented to us. I  cannot wait for those  concepts to be reality, at the same time I wish we were still in the 1950s-1980s. Before all this electronic and internet explosion that we are experiencing and about to delve further into a virtual reality world... The infinite amount possibilites that we are about to enter with our lives regarding our electronic devices, our cars, our homes...its overwhelming. Its scary.

Visions of Terminator, Avatar, 2001 a Space Odyssey, Back to the Future 2, has just flooded my brain. Some scary thoughts, but some awesome ones too! 

Did I just say that I wish we were still in the 1950s-1980s?

Nix that!

The future, if we dont phoque it up with greed and war and everything bad humans are capable of, the future looks OK to me! 

One thing though. Other than the awesome blue electric colour vibe from the grill to the interior lighting, the silhouette of this thing looks like its of a Mazda CUV design language...not  a very Buicky look to this CUV.

 

PS: That lady's milkshake sure would be able to attract all the boys to the yard! 

Edited April 19, 2018 by oldshurst442

[Robert Hall]

Cool video.  I like the all the tech and futuristic cityscapes.  

[regfootball]

Really love the dash look and all the displays.  But hey, Buick is an innovator in dash design

Honestly though this is where Buick SHOULD BE with vehicle design.  Compare Enspire to the Envision.  The front end motif with the horizontal bar framing the Buick logo and the muscular shapes front and rear, rakish greenhouse, ALL GOOD!  This is the two row Edge type crossover i have been saying is missing from Buick and even could be like how Chevy could move the Impala over to a crossover vehicle.

If you generically look at the side profile too, the design is not all that radical but somehow they have created lots of interesting things on a fairly typical crossover container.  Physically they could add some length, and make it even more imposing and muscular.

To me here it doesn't matter if it's an electric or gas.  I know they want to highlight technology with this concept so it is fitting to be electric in concept.  But I also see this kick starting Buick design into the future.  Avenir, Avista, and now this.  All great concepts and the showroom doesn't reflect it.  Imagine if this Enspire was in the showroom tomorrow.!

 

 

 

 

 

[ocnblu]

Hold on a sec y'all.  Why is everyone making a point (get it?) about the lady's looks, when it is clearly the dude who is the better looking of the two robots in the video? 

[David]

4 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Hold on a sec y'all.  Why is everyone making a point (get it?) about the lady's looks, when it is clearly the dude who is the better looking of the two robots in the video? 

Your welcome to the Manbot play toy!  I will happily relieve you of the fembot!  

11 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Cool video.  I like the all the tech and futuristic cityscapes.  

Yes very cool city, Futuristic and yet available to visit now as that is Dubai.  

[David]

Looking at the Chinese Auto show picks from Bing, Amazing some of the Buicks they get to see that we never do.

Anyone know what this Buick Concept was from China?

[David]

I think @Drew Dowdell needs to attend the Chinese auto show and report to us about all the cool auto's!  

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

I think @Drew Dowdell needs to attend the Chinese auto show and report to us about all the cool auto's!  

You can donate your airline miles to the cause.

[David]

6 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

You can donate your airline miles to the cause.

Would if I had any!  Dell has us on lockdown for travel, so now everything is a Skype session with customers.  

[balthazar]

That concept above is the 2007 Riviera.

[ocnblu]

7 hours ago, balthazar said:

That concept above is the 2007 Riviera.

With 455 Stage 1 power, IIRC.

[balthazar]

You may be thinking of the '01 Blackhawk, William. I didn't check the '07 Riv, but I'll bet dollars to donuts there's no 455 in there.

 

Poked around for 60 seconds- didn't see ANY claims as to an engine in the '07 Riv concept. Very likely a 'pusher'.

Edited April 20, 2018 by balthazar

[oldshurst442]

I poked around for 60 seconds too.

I found something...just words...so probably a pusher...but those words do not sound comforting for BLU regardless...

https://www.supercars.net/blog/2007-buick-riviera-concept/

 

Quote

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.

 

So....it might as well have a 455 stage 1 under the hood...it just be a generator to compliment this...

 

Instead of a whopping 91.5 cubic inch motor, it have a humongous monstrous 455 cubic incher.

Or in Canadian terms...instead of a 1.5 liter 4 banger, it have a 7.5 liter V8! 

 

[balthazar]

My 455 post-rebuild would be either a 462 or 470, so I get to claim 7.6 or 7.7L.

Of course; 'liters' is for snooty European cars.

And truthfully- what sounds better; '7.7' or '470'?  'Liters' or 'cubes'? Moltar, where are YOU on this one? :)

[daves87rs]

Not sure about the grill...but I like everything else about it!

[oldshurst442]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

My 455 post-rebuild would be either a 462 or 470, so I get to claim 7.6 or 7.7L.

Of course; 'liters' is for snooty European cars.

And truthfully- what sounds better; '7.7' or '470'?  'Liters' or 'cubes'? Moltar, where are YOU on this one?

LOL

You are right. Its not a Canadian thing this liters versus cubic inches. 

For me, anything smaller than a 305 gets to be  called in liters.  The Buick V6 for me will always be a 3.8 liter V6 rather than 231 CI.  However, original American V8s that started our craze for V8 power in our cars, like the small block Chevrolet for instance will always be 283 cubic inches.  But...even then, a late 1970s Trans Am will be referred to me by 6.6 liters and the Cadillac Northstar will be 4.6 liters....yes...I know...283 cubic inches...

So technically for me, this dilemma is a Canadian thing. 

Why Canadian you ask?

Because Canada has adopted the Metric system. Since the early 1970s. And Canadians, for the most part, including myself, STILL use in conversation the  Imperial  system.  Feet and pounds. Inches.  When we are conversing with others. Technically, our schooling has stopped teaching our kids both systems, so I think the Millennial students wont be comfortable with the Imperial system. Irony is that myself, I cannot visually see in a spacial reality what a meter is.  I can visualize a foot, an inch. 1 centimeter. With a little concentration, I could decipher miles in a spacial reality. Im better with kilometers. I know how heavy 1 pound is.  2 pounds. 3 pounds.  I also know how heavy 1 kilogram is.  

Im working on temperature.  Baking and cooking is done in Fahrenheit while weather is done in Celsius in my head.  

I know the basics. Water freezes at 0 C or 32F. Water boils at 100C or 212F.  -40C= -40F.  

So yeah...there you have it.  This is how I process cubic inches and liters. With a backstory to go along with it. 

 

PS:   Muscle Car engines of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s will ALWAYS sound better in cubic inches. Not only sound better, but in reality, these engines ARE cubic inches. 

Edited April 20, 2018 by oldshurst442

[David]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

My 455 post-rebuild would be either a 462 or 470, so I get to claim 7.6 or 7.7L.

Of course; 'liters' is for snooty European cars.

And truthfully- what sounds better; '7.7' or '470'?  'Liters' or 'cubes'? Moltar, where are YOU on this one?

I would like a Supercharged 470 please!  

[Robert Hall]

On 4/19/2018 at 10:25 PM, balthazar said:

My 455 post-rebuild would be either a 462 or 470, so I get to claim 7.6 or 7.7L.

Of course; 'liters' is for snooty European cars.

And truthfully- what sounds better; '7.7' or '470'?  'Liters' or 'cubes'? Moltar, where are YOU on this one?

I think 470 sounds better....I prefer cubic inches on cars up into 70s...until the  transition phase when the switchover to liters started.   Maybe get some custom period looking '470' badges made? 

Of course, for every rule there are exceptions--Pontiac, Ford and Mercury started using liters on some models in the 60s.  But in tandem with cubic inches. 

For example,  I would say 302 with regards to a '68 Cougar, but with my '87 Mustang, it's a 5.0.  Saying 302 when talking about an 80s-90s 5.0 would be a total faux-pas, IMO...or the more modern vehicles I've had...,3.2, 4.0, 4.6, 3.6.  I don't even know or want to know the cubic inch equivalents for those--describing them in cubic inches would ring false. 

Edited April 22, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Drew Dowdell]

On 4/19/2018 at 10:25 PM, balthazar said:

My 455 post-rebuild would be either a 462 or 470, so I get to claim 7.6 or 7.7L.

Of course; 'liters' is for snooty European cars.

And truthfully- what sounds better; '7.7' or '470'?  'Liters' or 'cubes'? Moltar, where are YOU on this one?

I prefer 7,700 cc.

[balthazar]

^ That's actual seven syllables ("7700").
Nah- too cumbersome.

4.35 bore x 3.95 stroke = 7693cc / 469.9 CI

Edited April 23, 2018 by balthazar

[Drew Dowdell]

14 hours ago, balthazar said:

^ That's actual seven syllables ("7700").
Nah- too cumbersome.

4.35 bore x 3.95 stroke = 7693cc / 469.9 CI

For me, it's a nice easy Fifty Thirty.

307ci - 5030cc

[Robert Hall]

Trying to think of examples were the engine size was expressed in CCs in the model name or badging..weren't the early Vegas badged as Vega 2300?   And the Cadillac 4.1 was badged as HT 4100.    Seems like the truck makers would latch onto CC badging....6200 sounds bigger and more macho than 6.2. 

[David]

20 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Trying to think of examples were the engine size was expressed in CCs in the model name or badging..weren't the early Vegas badged as Vega 2300?   And the Cadillac 4.1 was badged as HT 4100.    Seems like the truck makers would latch onto CC badging....6200 sounds bigger and more macho than 6.2. 

Would be Cool to have an Escalade ESV 7500 CC Motor!  course 7.5 L is good too.  

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Trying to think of examples were the engine size was expressed in CCs in the model name or badging..weren't the early Vegas badged as Vega 2300?   And the Cadillac 4.1 was badged as HT 4100.    Seems like the truck makers would latch onto CC badging....6200 sounds bigger and more macho than 6.2. 

3800, 4100, 3100, 3900, 4900.

Civic back in the 70s was badged that way too. 

[Robert Hall]

11 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

3800, 4100, 3100, 3900, 4900.

Civic back in the 70s was badged that way too. 

Yeah, Rover did also from the 60s into the 80s...2000, 2200, 3500, etc

[David]

GM's Supercharged 3900 engine was awesome!