DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: Is this Holden's next Monaro?

Upmarket General Motors brand Buick has whipped the covers off a sleek sports coupe ahead of its public debut at tonight's Detroit motor show, and it could be coming to a Holden showroom near you.

Wrapped in a bold, flowing two-door design, the large rear-drive four-seat coupe concept is powered by a 294kW twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 matched with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Although it's unclear whether the Avista rides on the same rear-drive Alpha platform as Chevrolet's new Camaro, there's a desire within GM to make it a production reality.

GM President and CEO, Mary Barra, is understood to be keen on developing a vehicle based on the Avista concept, a vehicle that could be sold globally wearing different badges, such as Opel in Europe and possibly even Holden in Australia.

Whether this scenario plays out is very much an unknown at this stage but, as we've reported, Opel has promised a big surprise for the Geneva motor show in March, which could turn out to be a born-again Opel GT.

The German-made coupe could in turn be sold in Australia as a new-generation Monaro, given Holden has promised to deliver a mystery sports car alongside 24 new models by 2020, more than a third of which will be sourced from Europe.

Adhering neatly to GM's evolving global design language, the Avista rides on large 20-inch alloy wheels, features a dual exhaust system and its V6 turbo powertrain works in tandem with sports-luxury suspension to deliver "nimble driving dynamics", says Buick.

The cabin is trimmed in leather and features aluminium accents and – like the pillarless, sculpted exterior – features a flowing yet modern aesthetic.

Featuring a 2+2 seating position designed to deliver plenty of room and comfort for all four occupants, the Avista's ethos is "elegance through simplicity", according to Buick.

This means that while it features cutting-edge semi-autonomous driving tech, it's been designed to be intuitive to use via a touch-screen on the instrument panel and centre console.

The concept car also appears to make use of augmented reality projections of the windscreen – essentially a much larger head-up display – along with touch-pad door-handles and what the company calls "electronic precision shift technology".

What are your thoughts on the new Buick Avista – does it have the credentials and credibility to be a reborn Holden Monaro?