The GINA Light Visionary Model is a fabric-skinned, shape-shifting sports car concept built by BMW. GINA stands for “Geometry and functions In ‘N’ Adaptions”. It was designed by a team led by BMW’s head of design Chris Bangle, with Anders Warming among the other designers. Construction began in 2001 and the finished car was presented in 2008.
BMW GINA at a glance
| Maker | BMW |
|---|---|
| Design lead | Chris Bangle |
| Other designer | Anders Warming |
| Construction started | 2001 |
| Presented | 2008 |
| Skin | polyurethane-coated Spandex, elastic, water resistant, translucent |
| Frame | aluminium wire structure with flexible carbon struts |
| Actuators | electric and hydraulic |
| Panels | four: bonnet, two sides and trunk |
| Doors | butterfly style |
| Engine | V8 |
English Wikipedia is the only source used here, so the facts were not cross-checked against a second source.
History of the BMW GINA
A skin instead of panels
BMW says the elastic, water-resistant, translucent skin of polyurethane-coated Spandex is resilient and durable, does not swell or shrink with temperature and does not slacken from movement. The body changes its shape with outside conditions and speed, and the driver can change it at will. The fabric is stretched over a frame with moving parts: an aluminium wire structure forms the shapes beneath the skin, with flexible carbon struts where flexibility is needed, such as ducts, door openings and the spoiler.
How it moves
Many electric and hydraulic actuators control the frame: the headlights appear when small motors pull the fabric open from slits like an eyelid, and the engine is reached through a slit down the middle of the bonnet. The translucent skin lets the taillights shine through. GINA has only four panels, the bonnet, the two sides and the trunk, and its skin looks seamless but can “grow” a rear spoiler at high speed. The butterfly doors are each covered by one piece of fabric reaching from the nose to the trailing edge.
Interior
When the car is parked, the steering wheel and instruments rest in an “idle” position on the centre console for easy entry; they move into place when the driver presses the start button, and the headrest rises from the seat once the driver is seated.
Design and features
- Fabric: Spandex coated with polyurethane.
- Frame: aluminium wire and flexible carbon struts.
- Headlights: revealed by fabric opening like an eyelid.
BMW GINA versions
- GINA Light Visionary Model (2008): the only car.
More BMW cars are in our BMW collection and more show cars in Concept Cars.
Sources
- BMW GINA, English Wikipedia: design, fabric body, interior
