Buick Electra Orbit Looks like a Concept Car from the 1950s
The Electra Orbit emerged from GM’s advanced design studio in Shanghai, China, and pairs its retro-futuristic styling with neat active aerodynamics.
The Buick Electra Orbit is a concept car from GM’s advanced design studio in China, and takes inspiration from GM’s Motorama dream cars from the 1950s.
The Electra Orbit has a streamlined shape, smooth surfacing, and active aerodynamics.
Inside, there’s a full-width display, ornately decorated fabrics, and crystal trim.
The United States was riding high in the 1950s. A booming postwar economy saw the automobile become firmly entrenched in American culture as personal car ownership skyrocketed, especially as the initial veins of the national Interstate Highway System began to stretch across the country. Capitalizing on this automotive fervor, General Motors created a series of daring dream cars for its Motorama exhibits to excite the public about the future of personal transportation. The Buick Electra Orbit looks like it would fit right in with those Motorama concepts, except for the fact that this sleek sedan was designed in 2025 by GM’s advanced design studio in Shanghai, China.
buick electra orbit concept
GM China
GM’s China division readily admits its space-age inspiration, stating that the concept is “a design exploration that marries the romance of the 1950s with futuristic technology and pure-electric architecture.” While the Electra Orbit seems to exist only virtually in these artistic renders, it serves as a beacon for what Buicks could look like in the next few decades.
GM says the concept is around 19 feet long and roughly 6.5 feet wide, giving it dramatic proportions befitting a flagship sedan. The front end dips down low, while the bodywork wears a streamlined silhouette. The headlights consist of six hockey-stick-shaped LEDs, sitting on either side of an illuminated Buick logo that is displayed on a central spine running up the hood of the car.
buick electra orbit concept
GM China
buick electra orbit concept
GM China
The fastback roofline gradually slopes downward, ducking under a winglike protrusion that houses the simple taillights. The Electra Orbit rides on massive 24-inch wheels with an old-school dish design, filling the bulging wheel arches.
The concept also features active aerodynamics, as shown off in an Instagram video from GM Design. Two discreet panels on the hood duck down to send cool air to the front brakes, while the rear wing element lifts up and splits into two pieces. The front splitter, side skirts, and rear bumper also descend down and forward to form a more efficient aerodynamic profile at speed.
Scissor doors swing upward to reveal a spacious cabin, the extra room afforded by the electric powertrain. A digital display sweeps across the length of the dashboard, and the wheel and instrument panel reconfigure depending on whether the owner is actively driving or leaving it up to the autonomous driving system. A holographic projection atop the dashboard, which looks like a planet with orbiting moons, represents the “intelligent AI assistant.” The only physical control is a crystal ball that sits embedded in the center console and apparently “offers intuitive physical command of vehicle functions.”
buick electra orbit concept
GM China
buick electra orbit concept
GM China
The cabin is decked out with a mix of fabrics, with a grayish color juxtaposed with a red clay-inspired hue. This is complemented by an ornate brocade pattern and crystal trim accents. The center spine continues inside with an illuminated edge, dipping down from the dashboard and under the center console before reappearing atop the center console and rising between the rear seats in a C shape to meet the concept’s roof.
The Electra Orbit is obviously a flight of fancy and doesn’t preview any production-ready Buicks coming in the near future. Instead, it appears that GM is letting its designers exercise their skills and imagination as they toy with what the automobile could become over the rest of this century. This is just the latest in a line of 2025 concepts from GM’s advanced design studios, following the U.K. Corvette and California Corvette concepts, and it’s got us dreaming of a world where the Electra Orbit rubs shoulders with those dramatic future Vettes.
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Caleb Miller
Associate News Editor
Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
