BMW unveil cloth-covered concept car
Fri 15 August 2008
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The 'Gina' cloth-covered car is a prototype vehicle from German car-maker BMW that is covered with fabric rather than metal. '
GINA’, an acronym for “Geometry and Functions In ‘N’ Adaptations”, has a seamless outer skin made entirely from an expansion-resistant textile fabric (polyurethane-coated Lycra) pulled taut around a moveable frame of metal and carbon fiber wires. The shape of the skin can be altered by the car's owner: it is stretched across flexible metal wires attached to the frame that can be moved with hydraulics operated from a driver's console. This lightweight design requires far less energy to produce than traditional BMW models and the overall car weight is significantly reduced, making it far more fuel-efficient. The skin is designed to wrinkle slightly when elements are extended (like opening the doors) and is based on the chassis of a BMW Z8. It has no bonnet, roof or trunk and access to the engine is achieved via clip-lock fasteners which are held together in the middle by a rail.
"The drastic reinterpretation of familiar functionality and structure means that drivers have a completely new experience when they handle their car. The high-precision fit of the material to the metal mesh also allows surface changes without slackening the tension," a BMW spokesman said.
At this concept stage the model is only able to be viewed in the BMW museum in Munich.
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