Acknowledging the important role luxury vehicles in the Chinese market often fulfill as both work place and mobile meeting room, Buick showed a five meters-plus, super spacious six-seater MPV with a difference at the 2009 Shanghai auto show.

Appropriately called the Business Concept it was designed in Shanghai at GM and SAIC's joint venture Asian studio PATAC. PATAC's design director Friedhelm Engler confidently told Car Design News: "We think this vehicle is exactly what China needs. When a businessman turns up at a prestigious hotel to pick up a colleague or client for a meeting, his car has to represent his business too. This is not just a people mover."

The concept's front face is suitably big and business-like featuring an imposing and more jewelled new interpretation of Buick's waterfall grille. The side of the car shows the brand's now established 'double sweep spear' highlighted by a thick bar of chrome starting from the angular front headlamps and then accentuating the high front door beltline - which dips half-way along the rear door, partly to provide better rear passenger vision - before finally wrapping round the rear lights. Teamed up with a strongly raked back front windscreen and a rocker line angling back in parallel with the first half of the belt line, it makes the large vehicle look much more dynamic.

Large conventionally opening front doors and sliding rear ones open to reveal a deep burgundy and cream color scheme inspired by ivory and a dark red hard wood called Zitan. Blue-lit acrylic sets off the wide instrument cluster and also the round seat bases to add to the prestigious lounge feel. The second-row seats individually swivel and legroom throughout looks excellent.

Given how well the basic China-only GL8 minivan already has sold, Engler believes the Business Concept would be a logical production move, but would require a different platform. Industry insiders suggest it could be sold alongside the GL8 and launch within three years.