BMW GINA

[modbaraban]

I'm amazed... twice.

First I was amazed by the concept itself and by how it was presented
Then I was amazed about the fact that nobody posted this here before I did


Here you go:



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTYiEkQYhWY[/youtube]

The BMW GINA Light Visionary Model that was seen via video being installed in the BMW Museum in Munich last week has finally been revealed, and the futuristic design study shows how BMW designers are thinking outside of the box when it comes to the materials that make up a car and also how the car relates to the driver. GINA stands for "Geometry and Functions in 'N' Adaptations", which basically means that designers from both BMW and BMW Group DesignworksUSA were allowed to throw out the rulebook. This is most evident in the GINA Light Visionary Model's outer skin, which is made entirely out of textile fabric that's pulled taut around a frame of metal and carbon fiber wires. The skeleton of the car is controlled by electro-hydraulic devices and can actually move and change shape beneath the fabric skin. For instance, the headlights of the concept can be exposed or hidden by the car's skin just like blinking eyes, and the hood opens from the center as the fabric parts to expose the engine. This idea extends to the interior, where BMW designers have made visible only those instruments that are required at a certain time, while the rest of the time the same fabric interior "blinks" them out of view. The car itself looks somewhat like a Z4 Roadster, though after viewing the extensive gallery of high-res images below, you'll be amazed how much the outer skin looks like normal sheetmetal. Until, that is, you see how the doors open. They lift up in a semi-scissor fashion and since there are no exposed hinges, the fabric artfully binds up as the door swings open. While the design of the GINA Light Visionary Model is very Bangle-esque with concave and convex surfaces intermingling everywhere you look, it looks appropriate and natural here. The car is very much a concept, meant more to inspire BMW's own designers and engineers rather than excite the public, but now we're excited about shape-changin, fabric-covered cars, anyway.

You'll find more info and lots of pics here

PS: what an animal! a shark!

[WhiteBlue]

Bangle

[joseff]

The blinking eyes are a bit creepy. I'd rather my car doesn't do that.
Also, the hood opening looks like a human body part that rhymes with Volvo.

Other than that, it's a nice concept. Think of the active aero possibilities!

Worth mentioning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velorex

[JiMbO]

i Thought the skin of a car was there too prevent flying debris from hitting passengers during a crash and also the weather!!

[tarzoon]

This car reminds me of Austin Powers:

"the name is GINA, Allota fa'GINA"

[modbaraban]

The blinking eyes are a bit creepy. I'd rather my car doesn't do that.

I reckon other implementations of the idea would look less raptorial. Imagine a how cute 2020 Fiat Panda would look like with that idea imlpemented

[checkered]

... I was amazed by the concept itself and by how it was presented.

I was pretty taken

by this concept too; interesting that much of the criticism seems to be driven by the (anthropo?)morphism of the vehicle. The car culture (not least because of what advertisments have come to frame and promote as positives) associates certain facets of materials, technology and interaction with itself: Impersonal, hard, unyielding, passive, etc. are qualities equated with personal space, freedom and safety when it comes to vehicles. To me, this has been a fallacious and misinformed analogy. My personal mobility future is malleable, light, modular, ultra responsive and uses the full range of emotions to deliver information in its most efficient form.

It's not creepy at all, if you ask me. Let the vehicles blink, smile and frown for that matter.

Clearly the value of design goes way beyond a personal appreciation of shapes. I do know that a large number of BMW/German car drivers are traditionalists in this regard, being used to unuttered but strict rules of continuity in how form follows function from one model to another. Even on those very grounds the contribution of Bangle & Co. can either be slated or commended. With GINA he's perhaps more at home than with making less drastic interpretations of large executive saloons and hatchbacks. Clearly there are features I would've done differently with GINA as well, but with prototypes expanding the basic idea throughout is a lesser consideration to demonstrating an exciting vision of it. And this GINA does very well.

Thank you for sharing this, modbaraban. This car had some of my underutilised synapses firing as they should be all the time. In time, perhaps we will be fortunate enough to dismiss such functionality as commonplace.

[WhiteBlue]

Gina shows the source of the unusual styling elements that BMW suddenly came up with years ago. it is obvious now that they were inspired by flexible spars under an elastic skin. I always wondered where this came from. it gave BMW a unique design language with some organic look for some years. well done. the concept itself in terms of being usefull for implementation with todays materials is questionable. it was probably never meant that way. elastic, reinforced polymer films can be very usefull in architecture but they simply do not have the tearing strength required for an automotive skin application. the idea of crosslinked polymer skins must be very appealing for the plastics industy. when you make it stiff enough to prevent it flabbing at high speed you will probably have too much weight to make the concept economic. the undoubtable benefits of polymer glazing are held back exactly by this very issue. high performance polymers are very expensive by weight.

[modbaraban]

The new 7-series is quite animalistic in its own way. I finally understood what it reminds me of.



After this I was so surprised to see the new Z4, which isn't controversial, and looks good at any angle.

[WhiteBlue]

I believe that Chris Bangle was replaced at BMW or at least they tasked another designer with the new models.

[jwielage]

The blinking eyes are a bit creepy. I'd rather my car doesn't do that.
Also, the hood opening looks like a human body part that rhymes with Volvo.

haha, some great Friday morning humor...

Its a cool concept, but I am a bit confused about what the perceived benefits of a car with skin rather than an exoskeleton (keeping with the whole animalistic theme). The skin would presumably be resistant to dents and dings, which is a nice feature i guess. However I would be worried about this skin tearing, in which case you would have to replace the entire piece of fabric.

Does anyone else have any ideas why this would be beneficial? If not it would appear that this is innovation for its own sake.

[Conceptual]

I dunno...

I am all about out of the box thinking, but a car that wears spandex?

Not my cup of tea at all? What happens at 80MPH to that skin? Does it sink into the vehicle? Cause drag? It looks like it would be very much like a parachute on any surface normal to direction traveled...

[xpensive]

I am mighty surprised to hear that Chris Bangle is still alive, he should have been assasinated after that 7-series horror.