BMW GINA Light Visionary Model Concept – A BMW Made Of Cloth

We really have stepped into the future, a new era where we live lives people only dreamed of before. Imagine telling someone that is about 80 or 90 years old that there are cars around that run on batteries or alcohol nevermind made out of cloth, can you imagine the things running through that person’s aged mind? I know I’ll be using some pretty colourful language to describe what I think about it if I were them.

So forget about sharing the news with the folks at home for this BMW you see here is something even the producers of Star Trek, Star Wars or whatever sci-fi flick that gets your juices flowing didn’t think about; a textile paneled car.

Dropping conventional metal paneling, BMW has adorned its latest concept, the GINA Light Visionary Model with an almost seamless outer skin that is essentially a flexible waterproof textile cover that stretches across a moveable structure. GINA’s individual functions like the headlights are only revealed when they are needed, i.e. turned on while the brake and signal lights are concealed behind the cloth at the back and do not appear beneath it like the headlights do. The movement of the panels to reveal the headlights seem like they are blinking open after a long sleep while the bonnet interestingly stretches open to reveal its cleavage, sorry, I meant engine.

In place of the traditional metal paneling, a new structure with minimum amount of components has been fitted. A special, highly durable and extremely expansion resistant fabric material stretches across a metal structure, that consists of only four elements. The largest component 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.

While some parts of the car move to reveal a certain function, other parts of the car move to enhance the dynamics of the car. For example, instead of using a rear spoiler, the entire back of the car lifts up seamlessly to create extra downforce. The components that lift the car remain hidden under the cloth even while the rear is lifted.

The interior of the car spells the unification of variability, form and function and whenever selected functions are accessed, the driver also changes the appearance of individual car elements. The variability of the interior of the car is adapted to suit the driver’s needs that means you can actually set up the interior of the car to your like, lumber support, steering reach, instrument distance, and whatever you would never imagine a car can do and this leads to a close interaction between driver and car in various different situations.

When the car is parked, the steering wheel and the round instruments – rev counter, speedometer and fuel gauge, which are vertically arranged on the centre console, are in idle position. This provides the driver with maximum comfort upon entering the car. Likewise, the seat only assumes its optimised functional position and shape if and when the driver sits down on it. At that point, the headrest, previously firmly integrated into the seat’s backrest, rises up automatically. At the same time, the steering wheel moves towards the driver and the instrument panel moves in the same direction. The information on the best driver-specific position of both steering column and seat is stored in the transducer. The engine is started simply by pushing the start/stop button.

Well, besides the obvious reasons of research and development, the reason for GINA’s existence is to challenge conventional and previously pursued solutions. And while it does that, the GINA Light Visionary Model also builds a bridge between vision and reality by presenting a number of features with a striking similarity with those found on production vehicles. The Roadster which is essentially based on a Z8 rests on 20″ alloy wheels in a cross-spoke design with a matt silver finish. The car body is comprised of an exceptionally light aluminum space frame. Two double tailpipes for the rear exhaust system, a third brake light integrated into the height-adjustable rear spoiler, an air splitter at the front and a rear-end diffuser in a carbon design also meet the standards of a production vehicle. Did I mention that it is believed to be powered by the same V8 engine found in the Z8? Well it could be, but that definitely is a V8 engine under there.

So will we ever see GINA make it to production? I certainly hope so, and while they’re at it, may I suggest that all GINA’s come with their own owner specified wardrobes. Imagine dressing up your BMW GINA in the latest designer wear, individualization will take on an entirely new meaning.