BMW GINA concept

[niky]

The one problem with fabric skin is that it can change shape under aerodynamic load, which can cause drag. You'd need a stiff frame to prevent that.

Otherwise, an intriguing study. Fabric would be cheaper to use and easier to repair (given the proper fabric) than steel skins. Lightness would depend on the amount of supporting framework needed to make it stiff enough to keep shape.

 

[Muzaffar]

That actually looks cool, I like it!
But its just going to be a concept, not anything more...... 👎

 

[Omnis]

Bangle comes across as a tool in that video, but there's no getting away from the fact that that is one stunningly sensual car.

No, he comes across as an artist.

This is going to drive those people with car fetishes wild. Can't wait for aftermarket tits at SEMA.

 

[Leonidae]

it's cool.. and will not see production for another 10-20 years. and all that fabric just makes me want to touch it.. with swiss army knife. only cool car from balnge era is 1-series 3-door hatch and Z3 M Coupe. the rest are bit too vulgar.

 

[Bram Turismo]

I have to admit – pretty cool. I mean, of course, it’s hideous, but the technology is cool.

Exactly what I was thinking.

This car is by no means pretty, the shape is akward, and the headlights freak me out. All that stuff moving makes me think back of "Alien" when that little alien popped out


Yes, the technology is cool, but that car looks hideous...

Still, BMW's always coming with new stuff, great 👍

 

[ExigeEvan]

Getting my car washed. If they’re looking at all towards mass-production, that’s the sort of thing that needs to be taken into account.

Can rag tops be taken through automated washers at the moment? In seriousness though, it's not that hard or unknown for anyone to hand wash their car. Especially as too much automated washing can do more harm than good.

The one problem with fabric skin is that it can change shape under aerodynamic load, which can cause drag. You'd need a stiff frame to prevent that.

Yeah any fabric, even stuff pulled tight over loads on flat-bed lorries seems prone to some sort of ruffling as it travles at high speed. So that's a definite issue. Though, fabric would also allow a more fluid shape to the body which could actually improve aerodynamics.

it's cool.. and will not see production for another 10-20 years. and all that fabric just makes me want to touch it.. with swiss army knife. only cool car from balnge era is 1-series 3-door hatch and Z3 M Coupe. the rest are bit too vulgar.

I really, really, don't think the fabric technology is that far off by any means. Certainly not 20 years.

 

[homeforsummer]

I have to admit – pretty cool. I mean, of course, it’s hideous, but the technology is cool.

The tech is great, but I'd rather not drive a car with wrinkles

 

[JohnBM01]

You've misspelled "concept," wrcsti. I always take concept cars as forecasting the future. Call me crazy, but I am kind of imagining a successor to the BMW Z8 from the late 1990s when I see this. Of course, I'm talking about late '90s BMW design, which I've loved. It has that vintage split-windshield look up front. The concept's design suggests a sporty and fluid front/RWD sports car in the works. The fastback look makes me wonder of a (hypothetical name) Z5 as well. It may also suggest BMW's version of the Mercedes SLR McLaren as far as its doors and overall style suggests. I can see one of three things with this car. It doesn't look terrible to me. More like a nice-looking lady... that needs a makeover to be a beautiful swan. So let me review:

I think this could be hints of...
* a possible new front/RWD sports car in the works
* a potential new member of the "Z" family of BMW sports cars
* an exotic-type BMW sports car

Which of these seeme more likely to you, if any?

 

[Loon]

Out of those I'd say its a new edition to the Z cars, just a little more exotic with it's doors and whatnot.

 

[Philly]

Aren't the Z cars and the FR sports cars category the same? Or would we be talking about a 4 series similar to how the 6 series is a 'sports" version of the 5 series?

Of these two, the four is already pretty much covered by the 3 series coupe, and there aren't any cars (that I can think of) that would fit a Z5 type car, seeing that Mercedes doesn't really have anything between the SLK and SL, and most other cars are either SLK sized like the Sky/Solstice or SL sized like the cars that are much more upmarket. And the 6 series seems to take on both thhe SL and CL at the same time.

As for an SLR-type car, I would bet against it. BMW already has the "M1" coming down the pipe and I don't see them putting multiple super-exclusive cars on the market at the same time. Unless they were going to build one after "M1" production, although I don't know why they would already be in the concept stage.

I'm just going to say it's a design study. Somewhere, somebody said that part of the BMW design process was making a wireframe car and stretching fabric over it. This could just be showing us that step in the process and where some of their cars' shapes come from. Or, they could be showing us a new-ish styling direction.

 

[Danoff]

Awesome concept. I love it.

I love the notion of having 5 or 6 skins tucked away in your garage.
"I feel like red today"
"Some jerk spray painted the car and punched a hole in the door, time to put on the blue skin"
"Honey, would you mind throwing the Silver BMW skin in the wash? I want to take it out this evening."

Two questions:
1) Tumble Dry?
2) Are we still going to be protected from spikey debris by some interior layer? I don't want a rock that got kicked up to suddenly come through the outer portion of the car and imbed itself in my leg.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I don't think the fabric is going to be made of tissue paper...


On another note, imagine the pedestrian collision benefits. 👍

 

[Wolfe]

I don't think the fabric is going to be made of tissue paper...


On another note, imagine the pedestrian collision benefits. 👍

The car could sense an impending impact and realign the framework to form a soft pocket on the front of the car, essentially catching the pedestrian as if they were a baseball...

 

[Jim Prower]

Good lord...if THAT happens We'll all be driving K.I.T.T.s...without the lasers, Super-pursuit, and bulletproof-ness.

You know, all the things that made K.I.T.T. cool...other than his voice.

 

[the Interceptor]

I'm just going to say it's a design study. Somewhere, somebody said that part of the BMW design process was making a wireframe car and stretching fabric over it. This could just be showing us that step in the process and where some of their cars' shapes come from. Or, they could be showing us a new-ish styling direction.

This car was never intended to hit the road at any time. It's only the realization of a wicked idea that directly went into the BMW museum. A very interesting idea I might add, and probably a new way to at least replace certain metal parts of a car in the future.

 

[Robin]

Ive read all of this and yes its cool but so far no one has mentioned...


What if you have a crash!

Yes its a concept but seriously if you going to have an accident at like 70mph and all you have is a boats sail to protect you good luck!

However this would do wonders for fuel consumption... could you imagine a hybrid or hydrogen model with this skin!

Robin

 

[Sage]

At 70 mph, your sheetmetal (or plastic bumper) doesn’t do a whole lot either – the frame and subframes are the ones absorbing the energy.

 

[Philly]

Exactly. The result isn't going to be all that different when you factor in the entire force of the other car. Sure, you will be saved from fender-benders, but you'll still have the same internal damage as in a regular sheetmetal car.

 

[exigeracer]

Sure, you will be saved from fender-benders, but you'll still have the same internal damage as in a regular sheetmetal car.

And a week's worth of labor is saved if you can reskin the car in a few hours instead of the long time spent with patching up, replacing, repainting etc. The cost of the fabric would presumably be far lower than traditional body work as well. It's not that far out of an idea if you consider everything.

 

[Loon]

And a week's worth of labor is saved if you can reskin the car in a few hours instead of the long time spent with patching up, replacing, repainting etc. The cost of the fabric would presumably be far lower than traditional body work as well. It's not that far out of an idea if you consider everything.

That is if the parts underneath the skin, all the framework and additional moving parts aren't damaged. Who knows, all the stuff that's underneath the skin might cost as much to repair as normal body work does.

 

[Philly]

Remember that anything saved in body repairs would be labor instead of the actual bodywork. Body panels will certainly be more expensive, but labor could easily go down to a few hours.

 

[superberkut]

This car was never intended to hit the road at any time. It's only the realization of a wicked idea that directly went into the BMW museum. A very interesting idea I might add, and probably a new way to at least replace certain metal parts of a car in the future.

Very good point. I myself lost sight of that.

How would the fabric be repaired? Would it require a seamster/seamstress?

 

[Danoff]

That is if the parts underneath the skin, all the framework and additional moving parts aren't damaged. Who knows, all the stuff that's underneath the skin might cost as much to repair as normal body work does.

I doubt it. Normal body work requires matching paint, and painting in the first place. Parts under the skin don't have to match or be pretty, and those parts were likely to get damaged in an accident with a sheet metal car anyway. Plus, a little damage can be tolerated in those parts if you can't see it. Whereas a dent in your fender is an immediate blemish on your car. I think all in all, you come out ahead.

Very good point. I myself lost sight of that.

How would the fabric be repaired? Would it require a seamster/seamstress?

Repair doesn't look like it would be a good idea. I imagine it would simply be replaced, probably by the owner.

 

[homeforsummer]

The car could sense an impending impact and realign the framework to form a soft pocket on the front of the car, essentially catching the pedestrian as if they were a baseball...

I can see the popular sport of throwing yourself in front of cars approaching... I might patent it

Seriously though, it would give dim-witted pedestrians no incentive to stop, look and listen if cars became clothed in squishy shape changing fabric, because getting hit would be no more strenuous than falling into bed. Probably better actually, my bed has a metal frame and when I've fallen into it before I've bruised my leg!

 

[ExigeEvan]

At the end of the day there would still be some metal under the frame, no doubt in the bumper area so you'd still get a good whack on the legs. The other thing is if you've landed on a trampoline awkwardly, it still has to stop giving way to you at some point.

 

[the Interceptor]

At the end of the day there would still be some metal under the frame, no doubt in the bumper area so you'd still get a good whack on the legs. The other thing is if you've landed on a trampoline awkwardly, it still has to stop giving way to you at some point.

But the actual risk of injury in car vs. people crashes seems to be that the person hits the bonnet or the windshield with his head. So this car should in theory have advantages in this regard.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> Wow, after seeing that vid reminds me of Evangelion.

 

[V1P3R]

The material is impressive I suppose, but the concept doesn't seem all that ground breaking not to mention how do they keep the "skin" from looking like Clarkson's face during the acceleration in the Atom?

Finally, why is it so damn hard for them to design a car that doesn't look ugly as a turd... ?

 

[Brett]

It is an interesting concept. I do not really have many more thoughts about it other than that. It just seems to be very interesting and I would like to see where it goes from here.

 

[Tornado]

I've taken some time to think about this, to weigh in what BMW is trying to tell me, what it means for the future of car manufacturing, and what it means to me. And I came up with answer of "absolutely nothing."


I understand the idea, but it is far too outlandish to anything remotely close to practical. Ever. The fact that BMW has no plans to pursue it beyond this concept tells that in spades, as do the numerous problems with the very idea that are inherent to the base design. The closest we will probably ever have to cheaply replaceable body parts was seen in the Z1 and countless Saturns, and most people never bothered with it then. Even if we do come up with something else besides plastic paneling, I doubt it would be something as impractical and inherently flawed as this idea is.


So, to sum up, lovely...thing. I'm sure BMW spent a lot of time on it. Now show me something relevant.