General Motors offered up an elegant new concept at the Shanghai Motor Show, the Buick Envision Plug-in Hybrid SUV. This scissor-door beauty is equipped with a solar roof and lithium battery to provide the vehicle with power independent of its direct-injected turbocharged 2-liter engine and two electric motor generators in the eight-speed automatic/manual transmission. On the inside, the Envision’s high-tech cabin is loaded with cloud computing-powered goodies that connect the driver to the Internet through his cell phone or the touch-screen interface on the center console or on the windshield.

The Envision’s chassis is made of lightweight carbon fiber, aluminum, and magnesium. The concept features intelligent all-wheel drive that shifts power to the wheels that need it, as well as an electromagnetic adjustable suspension to adjust to road conditions and provide optimal handling. The Envision concept was developed jointly by Shanghai GM and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) according to Shi Hong, Director of Buick Marketing at Shanghai GM, and was designed with the Chinese consumer in mind.

+ GM

Via Green Car Congress