American brand looks to the 1950s with wild, jet-inspired concept
That has now changed with the Buick Electra Orbit – however, as GM notes, this is simply a concept.
Conceived and developed by the GM China Advanced Design Center, the Electra Orbit is a 'design exploration that marries the romance of the 1950s with futuristic technology and pure-electric architecture'.
CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
Designers drew inspiration from 'space-age spacecraft, jets, and iconic Buick concepts of the 1950s', with a rakish roofline, prominent shoulders, and a tapered, almost missile-like rea- end that gives the concept its most distinctive angle.
It's a big 'un, too – GM says it measures nearly 6m long and over 2m wide. For reference, the longest production Buick was the 1975 Electra sedan at over 5.9m long.
While the concept has a long rear overhang, its front overhang is quite short, and it has a smooth, grille-less front fascia. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
The Electra Orbit rides on big 24-inch wheels – once a wild concept car touch, now standard fit on a GMC Yukon Denali – and features scissor doors and 'deployable aerodynamic devices' to optimise drag and downforce.
Open those scissor doors and there's a 2+2-seat layout, with the rear seats separated by an unusual console.
Dramatically arched ambient lighting strips grace the cabin, while the seats are finished in 'opulent fabrics' with a brocade pattern – another very 1950s touch, if in a different way to the Space Age exterior – in colours inspired by rich red clay. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Supplied Credit: CarExpert Supplied Credit: CarExpert Supplied Credit: CarExpert
Up front, there's a curved pillar-to-pillar display which GM calls the 'Ring'. Vehicle functions can be adjusted via a crystal ball-like controller on the centre console.
While the Electra Orbit concept likely won't reach production, Buick has dusted off its Electra nameplate which debuted in 1959 and was seen on a flagship model until 1990.
First used on the Electra E5 and now-defunct Electra E4 electric SUVs introduced in 2023, it's being expanded to the upcoming Electra L7 sedan.
GM confirmed in April it would make Electra a bona-fide sub-brand of Buick, offering electric vehicles, extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) and plug-in hybrids on a new locally developed architecture called Xiao Yao. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Supplied Credit: CarExpert
Above: 2025 Electra E5, 2025 Electra GS concept
The American giant is doubling down on the Buick brand in China. It has long been its most popular brand there, and Buick's sales in China long ago overtook those in the US, with a raft of models developed exclusively for the brand's Chinese lineup with joint venture partner SAIC Motor.
The SAIC-GM joint venture agreement is up for renewal in 2027.
GM took a loss of more than US$5 billion on its Chinese operations late last year, but while it racked up losses in 2024, this year has been much sunnier for the American giant.
In both the first and second quarters of this year, GM and its Chinese joint ventures posted year-on-year sales growth. Its second-quarter deliveries were up by 20 per cent, marking the highest annual gain for a single quarter in four years, while overall in the first half of 2025 its sales were up by 9.4 per cent to 890,000 units. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Supplied Credit: CarExpert
Above: 2024 Electra-LT concept, 2025 Electra L7
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