What majestically hoves into view at the beginning of Rain Man is a car that needs no explanation. The cream-coloured 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible carried chrome, grace, and glory onto the big screen; straight-eight under the hood and as much star power as the young Tom Cruise at its wheel. “Roadmaster.” It was all in the name: if you drove a Buick, you owned the road.

But while the box-office receipts for the current Top Gun sequel show that Tom Cruise is still a superstar without peer, time hasn’t been quite so kind to Buick. The current lineup of crossovers – Encore, Envision, and Enclave – are comfortable and loaded with features, but lack charisma. They seem trapped between workaday Chevrolet and luxurious Cadillac, filling a price-point in the GM range, but not really carrying much personality.

With the new Wildcat EV concept, and the return of the Electra nameplate, Buick is hoping to make a statement about what the company is. The concept car, a 2+2 coupe, would certainly be worthy of picking up the Roadmaster’s mantle. It’s a stunning and forward-looking machine, inside and out. But it’s a concept only, and Buick has stated an intent to remain an all-SUV brand (all crossovers, really).

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

Buick Wildcat EV concept rear three-quarter with distinctive semi-swing doors that open on the passenger side. Photo by Buick

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

The Buick Wildcat EV concept conveys the all-new design language that will influence Buick production models for the foreseeable future as the brand transitions to an all-electric future. Photo by Buick

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

Buick Wildcat EV concept interior. Photo by Buick

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

Buick Wildcat EV concept interior driver side. Photo by Buick

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

Buick Wildcat EV concept passenger side profile. Photo by Buick

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

Buick Wildcat EV rear. Photo by Buick

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

Buick Wildcat EV concept front view. Photo by Buick

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

Buick Wildcat EV concept 18-spoke “turbine” wheels. Photo by Buick

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

Buick Wildcat EV concept rear three-quarter. Photo by Buick

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

Buick’s new tri-shield logo. The new badge will be body-mounted onto the front fascia of Buick products starting in 2023. Photo by Buick

For a generation who remembers Buicks as the beige sedan their grandparents drove to brunch at Denny’s, it can be easy to overlook the heritage of the brand. Buick is the oldest still-running American automobile brand, and in Canada comes with long-running royal association. It also has a forgotten racing pedigree, and arguably produced the single coolest car of the 1980s. It is a badge well worth resuscitating.

The first Buick was built in 1899, but it took until 1905 for the company to really get going. What set Buick apart was its engine technology, which featured overhead valves, like those used in modern cars today — at the time, rival manufacturers mostly used side-valve technology. Company founder David Dunbar Buick was bought out by Buick’s then-president, William C. Durant. It was not a shrewd move. By 1909, Buicks were the best-selling cars in America.

In the same year, a Buick piloted by Louis Chevrolet would win a 250-mile race at the Indianapolis raceway (this predated the Indy 500). North of the border, the McLaughlin motor company began producing fine automobiles using the Buick engine. This would later lead to a series of cars built for members of the British royal family. An open 1939 Canadian-made Buick 8 limousine built for the pre-Second-World-War Royal Tour of Canada has the distinction of having carried King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and Queen Elizabeth II.

If Buicks had grace, they also had pace. The post-war “Fireball” straight-eight of the Roadmaster had punch, but during the war Buick built one of the fastest tracked fighting vehicles ever made. It was called the M18 Hellcat, and Buick fitted it with a 400-hp 940-lb-ft 16.0L radial engine good for 100 km/h.

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

The 1949 Buick Roadmaster from the film ‘Rain Man’ Photo by Bonhams

As the years passed, Buick had the original, excellently-named Wildcat; and the slick LeSabre. Captain Kirk – Montreal’s own Bill Shatner – drove a Corvette to the Star Trek set, but Leonard Nimoy had an ultra-cool black Buick Riviera. Buicks were smart and stylish, and the company’s image resonated strongly with the public.

But then it wobbled a bit. Struggling with the fuel crises of the 1970s, Buick needed a boost, and it found it. Literally. Further developing its 3.8L V6 for turbocharging, the company went racing, hoping to convince buyers that Buick V6 power was as good as a thirstier V8. The move met with surprising success, and spawned a perennial favourite among car collectors.

It was called the Buick Grand National — in its most potent form, the GNX. Swathed in black paint and fitted with a turbocharged V6 engine, it was a blend of muscle-car menace and turbocharged promise. Low-mileage examples still fetch eye-watering prices at auction today.

wildcat ev concept previews buick's all-electric revolution

A 1987 Buick GNX with just 8 miles on the odometer, listed on BringATrailer in February 2019 Photo by Bring a Trailer

But the glory faded, at least here in North America. Today, roughly 80 per cent of global Buick sales are in the Chinese market, the bulk of them models not sold here. Buick owners in the Chinese market are much younger than those who buy them here, and the brand needs another boost to show relevance to a younger crowd.

Or less a boost than a charge. The Wildcat EV concept is a styling exercise only, meant to show what Buick’s design team can do when freed from the restrictions of production requirements. That same design team is currently working on a series of BEV crossovers that will be badged as “Electras,” in series production followed by an alphanumeric naming convention.

An all-electric range is planned by 2030, with five new EVs recently announced for the Chinese market, and the first North American Buick EV set to arrive in 2024. The latter will leverage GM’s Ultium battery technology, set to arrive in the Cadillac Lyriq, and already demonstrating its potential with the juggernaut Hummer EV.

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Yet, we have seen a version of this movie before. In 2016, Buick showed off the well-proportioned Avista coupe concept; some elements of that design made it into the current all-crossover lineup, but not to the point to generate genuine excitement.

GM’s Ultium technology is genuinely forward-looking technology, and certainly has the performance potential to bring Buick to the fore. If Buick can more effectively apply the Wildcat EV design elements to a crossover, it could be a knockout. Flat-floor EV layouts do allow for a little more flexibility than conventional combustion-engine powertrains, so there’s some hope here.

We mean hope that the next Electra could arrive, the new tri-shield Buick badge proudly emblazoned on its front, and need no explanation. The Buick brand deserves a comeback. Electra could be the next chapter it needs.

Keyword: Wildcat EV concept previews Buick's all-electric revolution

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