BMW future - cars tailored to suit
13/06/08 10:20 Filed in: News
BMW have released details of their extraordinary GINA project which features a cloth skin body stretched over a frame. It's the new idea from the team headed by Chris Bangle, who caused so much controversy with the introduction of the flame-surface styling.
BMW says that the idea of a flexible outer skin breaks new ground in automotive engineering, although, I suppose, those familiar with some of the vintage cars produced in the 1920s might disagree. Undeniably, however the GINA sports car is a high technology, ultra modern approach.
BMW calls it GINA Light Visionary Model and it has an almost seamless outer skin, a flexible textile cover that stretches across a moveable substructure. The benefits include the lightness of the structure, the ability of the body to move and adapt. For example the rear spoiler can increase its angle for greater downforce, simply stretching under the skin.
The headlights can appear through openings in the outer skin which open very like eyelids. To access the engine, you simply unzip a slot down the centre of the bonnet and pull back the covers! With the exception of the headlights, other lights simply shine through the fabric.
The body consists of only four elements. The largest extends from the front of the vehicle to the edge of the windscreen and down the sides to the rear edge of the doors. The large side panels start at the front where the rocker panels emerge and run across the rear wheel arches into the rear. The fourth component is the central rear deck element.
The interior of the GINA concept
BMW says that the idea of a flexible outer skin breaks new ground in automotive engineering, although, I suppose, those familiar with some of the vintage cars produced in the 1920s might disagree. Undeniably, however the GINA sports car is a high technology, ultra modern approach.
BMW calls it GINA Light Visionary Model and it has an almost seamless outer skin, a flexible textile cover that stretches across a moveable substructure. The benefits include the lightness of the structure, the ability of the body to move and adapt. For example the rear spoiler can increase its angle for greater downforce, simply stretching under the skin.
The headlights can appear through openings in the outer skin which open very like eyelids. To access the engine, you simply unzip a slot down the centre of the bonnet and pull back the covers! With the exception of the headlights, other lights simply shine through the fabric.
The body consists of only four elements. The largest extends from the front of the vehicle to the edge of the windscreen and down the sides to the rear edge of the doors. The large side panels start at the front where the rocker panels emerge and run across the rear wheel arches into the rear. The fourth component is the central rear deck element.
The interior of the GINA concept
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