Buick Enspire spied for the first time, loses concept’s electric powertrain

About a year ago,

Buick

showed

a high-performance electric crossover

with wide, aggressive, curvy lines that was

called the Buick Enspire

. Now we have our first look at the production version. While it does seem to be styled like the

crossover

, it also seems to have lost its electric powertrain in favor of internal combustion.

At the front of the crossover, we can clearly see it has the skinny, scowling headlights of the concept sitting high on the front fascia and flush with the hood. The main grille looks like it may be smaller, but it could also just be that the actual open section of the grille doesn’t fill up the grille area of the fascia. In profile, the crossover has an attractive long nose, low roof and rising belt line. The rear shows the most change, as the rear pillars are much thicker, and the taillights don’t appear to span the full width of the crossover.

It’s in the rear that we can also see the evidence that the Buick Enspire will actually be gasoline powered. Looking very closely under the rear bumper cover, we can see two exhaust tips turned to face the ground. Based on the size of the crossover, and the fact

a Cadillac XT4

was being driven along with the prototype, the Enspire is probably using the

XT4

‘s platform, as well as its mechanical bits. That means it probably has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Power will also probably go through a nine-speed automatic to either the front wheels or all four.

This prototype looks to be pretty far along, so we’ll probably see the production version in about a year. Considering the Enspire’s size and likely powertrain, it may even replace the similar

Buick Envision

. And since the

Envision

is Buick’s worst selling crossover (unless you count the

Regal TourX

as one), it would be ripe for replacement.