| Make
|
BMW
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| Model |
GINA |
| Concept
year |
2008 |
| Production
year |
- |
| Engine |
- |
The BMW GINA is a highly innovative
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The BMW GINA changes the design rulebook
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concept which features clever use of materials and technology.
The GINA acronym stands for 'Geometry In "N"
Adaptions'. The 'N' stands for infinite.
While at first glance the BMW GINA appears to be nothing
more than a BMW
Z4 stablemate. As soon as the doors are opened it
reveals its true nature.
Covering the lightweight spaceframe of the BMW GINA are
not conventional metal bodypanels, but instead an elastic,
rubber-like material is stretched across the structural
members and wire frame to form an attractive design which
follows BMW's flame surfacing styling philosophy.
This elastic material has given BMW's designers more options
when designing various moving parts of the GINA concept.
The doors for example have no shut line along their front
edge as the material just moves with the door. At the
rear the electro-hydraulic adjustable spoiler rises and
lowers under the skin of the roadster to increase and
decrease downforce,
all without interupting the flowing lines of the vehicle.
And at the front of the GINA concept the headlights hide
behind the body when not in use, when turned on the skin
opens up to reveal the headlight - in a manner eerily
like a human eye.
The elastic material also plays a part in revealing the
front mounted engine, where a central slit divides the
bonnet in two. This slit can be opened and closed. When
open it looks disturbingly like a surgeons scalpel mark.
Inside the BMW GINA concept the material has been employed
in both the dash and the seats. In the dash it is used
to tilt the central gauges toward the driver when the
engine is started. While in the seats it is used to raise
the head restraints to follow the contours of the human
body.
Further helping to keep the lines of the GINA concept
clean and uncluttered are the taillights which are hidden
under the skin of the roadster. Completley invisible when
off, they shine through the material when needed.
While such extensive use of elastic material will be difficult
to translate into a practical production vehicle. Its
use for some elements of vehicle design will probably
become more common in future thanks to its lightweight
and highly flexible design properties.
Similar and related vehicles:
BMW M1 Hommage
BMW Concept CS
BMW H2R
BMW Z4 Coupe
BMW Z9 Gran Turismo
BMW X-Coupe 
BMW Mille Miglia
BMW X6
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