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Buick Velite
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Buick Velite is a roadster concept car designed by Buick and built by Bertone. It was first presented to the public at the 2004 New York International Auto Show.
In 2002, Buick showed a roadster concept car that they called the Bengal. It was widely thought to be an impressive exercise in styling, but never considered to be a viable production vehicle. With the Velite, a much more practical design is put forth. Originally speculated to utilize the General Motors Kappa platform, the basis that underpins the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Sky roadsters, both of which are seeing production, but in actuality the Velite makes use of the Zeta platform — which is shared with the Holden Commodore/2008 Pontiac G8, as well as the forthcoming Chevrolet Impala and Pontiac GTO replacements
The Velite features styling cues that show its Buick heritage. The "waterfall" front grill, triple fender portholes, cleanly elegant lines, not extravagant. Its engine is an experimental twin-turbocharged 3.6L V6, rated at 400hp, mated to a 6 speed automatic transmission.
Buick has shown great interest in producing it, but have said it is unlikely it will be found in show rooms in the near-distant future as they are concentrating on refreshing their current line-up. Despite the recent attention on the Zeta platform, no mention has been made of a Velite on this platform. If the Velite were to make it to production, however, the twin-turbochargers would most likely be absent. This is despite the fact that Buick is experienced with forced induction, with the early 80s Buick Grand National.
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