New BMW Shape Shifting Concept Car.
Concept cars give automotive designers a chance to let their imaginations run wild, often with outlandish results. But even by that measure, BMW has come up with something as strange as it is innovative — a shape-shifting car covered with fabric.
Instead of steel, aluminum or even carbon fiber, the GINA Light Visionary Model has a body of seamless fabric stretched over a movable metal frame that allows the driver to change its shape at will. The car — which actually runs and drives — is a styling design headed straight for the BMW Museum in Munich and so it will never see production, but building a practical car wasn’t the point.
Not too practical, still, very neat :)
June 12th, 2008 at 8:27 am
LOVE IT!
Who cares if its practical, people buy cars that cost 10 times what they should and break 10 times as often as a KIA just because it has a certain name.
June 12th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Awesome concept. It will be very interesting to see how this informs the development and use of alternative materials in cars… Maybe if we all had fabric cars, we’d have fewer fatalities? Talk about a kinder, gentler car…
June 12th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Oh wow!! wow! Agree, who cares about practical when you can delight your senses with mind blowing design every once in a while. Designing such out there products is important to see how far we can go…
This Gina is fabulous! Thanks for sharing it. Love it.
June 12th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
WHOAAAA! now thats something! altho i am not a beamer fan, yes merc rules! but this is amazing!
however, if its fabric, how does it get cleaned? especially from bird poop! lol (im not sure if he mentioned it as i have no audio at work)
June 12th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
This is truly amazing. Talk about thinking outside the box …
June 12th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
June 13th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
wow!
too bad it’s not going into production, I’d LOVE to get one!
I especially liked the part when the car blinked with its ‘eye’
June 14th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Now thats what i call a great car! hehe. Great video and great imagination ill say.
June 14th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
jameela jameela.. bas kter ma3jooqa ya 5alti
June 28th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Great car. But It cost a big money
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
My main concern would be safetly. I’m sure that metal would catch on fire much harder than cloth. Also it would pierce less easy in a collision. Also I just like how metal looks but I give BMW respect for coming up with revolutionary new ideas.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:21 am
Talk about being impractial - I would hate thinking about that car with it’s cloth exterior sitting out in the rain. You’re asking for big problems (mold, staining, etc. etc.). Nice idea but not fully thought out.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:54 am
To me it looks more than strange… “blind” car… and concept of using cloth makes me feel doubts regarding its practical use… I already can imagine a car with patches on it on place of scratches:(
July 29th, 2008 at 10:10 am
It looks like a flying boat.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:45 am
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October 11th, 2008 at 3:35 am
hey it at least it looks cool!