BMW Introduces GINA Concept Car, Covered In Fabric

smithtuna33 writes "Ever wondered what the metal skin on your car is actually good for? Engineers at BMW have decided that fabric might work just as well. The doors literally peel away from the side of the car, the engine bay opens up down the middle, and pretty much everything (such as headlamps) is hidden until the fabric reveals it. It is a stunning concept that has already been influencing BMW's designs. The video is well worth watching."

Appropriate name

[badboy_tw2002 (524611)]

I'd call a car made out of nice fabrics a 'gina too!

Re:Appropriate name

[dotancohen (1015143)]

I'd call a car made out of nice fabrics a 'gina too!

A vagina analogy in a car forum! Welcome to dotslash!

I swear that technology like this is the reason that I am studying to become an engineer. Not only to help design them, which I would love to do, but to afford them when they become available. Expect to see me first in line when this technology becomes available in a consumer vehicle.

Re:Appropriate name

[enoz (1181117)]

A vagina analogy in a car forum! Welcome to dotslash!

Actually I'd say it was a car analogy in a forum full of cunts.

Re:Appropriate name

[Moraelin (679338)]

Reminds me of one of Vince Ebert's jokes. He's a physicist turned commedian. So after explaining relativity a bit, he goes something like, "So the faster something goes, the shorter it gets. Also known as the Porsche Driver Syndrome." ;)

Re:Appropriate name

[peragrin (659227)]

you can't the business degree includes a free lobotomy. a requirement to become a business manager.

Re:Appropriate name

[budgenator (254554)]

I have many friends in the engineering profession and they all make over $80K, including the engineer at a silicone breast making facility.
What do they pay quality control :)

Re:Appropriate name

[Tmack (593755)]

Well, they could have redesigned their logo to match, but another company already uses it [photobucket.com]...

Tm

Re:Appropriate name

[Phorion (963169)]

I wish it was developed by Volkswagen. I'd get into a VWGINA any day.

Re:Appropriate name

[L33THa0R69 (610556)]

That fabric better be seriously waterproof - a moist 'gina could adversely affect handling.

Finally..

[mrbluze (1034940)]

the skinnable car!

Re:Finally..

[mrbluze (1034940)]

Just having watched the vid, it's quite a cool concept. Though I can well imagine a jealous walker-by accidentally slashing it with his pocket knife. That would ruin it a bit methinks.

Re:Finally..

[bruins01 (992422)]

What you're suggesting is the fabric analog of getting keyed. I imagine repairing a tear caused by a key, or a pocketknife, or a rock on the freeway, would be a lot less expensive if the repair consists only of replacing a piece of fabric.

I'm more concerned about security. Would this feature make it easier to break into my car? Would it make it easier to sabotage or steal from my engine? My gas tank?

Re:Finally..

[Chrisje (471362)]

Didn't anyone RTFA?

I see a lot of people talking about the sturdiness of said fabric, but noone mentions that it's some space-age stuff they're slapping on there, on a metal frame, laced with carbon for extra strengthening.

Come on guys! Zee Germans are building the thing! I'm relatively sure they'll deliver a solid product. They *ALWAYS* do.

Re:Finally..

[ozmanjusri (601766)]

JThough I can well imagine a jealous walker-by accidentally slashing it with his pocket knife.

There are already plenty of fabrics which are resistant to casual slashes, and some in the pipeline which are even more durable [slashdot.org].

Vandals can already do a significant amount of damage to a painted metal car body with a knife or even a coin. If the repair costs of the fabric are competitive with metal, it might even reduce costs over the life of the vehicle.

Re:Finally..

[davolfman (1245316)]

That said any fabric under tension is going to have a tendency to rapid failure as it is cut. A scratch on metal is a minor cosmetic flaw, a cut in stretched fabric is a gaping wound. And I don't think I've ever encountered ANY fabric that can't be cut with a sharp enough knife, if there was such a thing it would be unworkable.

Re:Finally..

[ozmanjusri (601766)]

And I don't think I've ever encountered ANY fabric that can't be cut with a sharp enough knife

There are fabrics that can withstand a running chainsaw [wikipedia.org], and they are in common use.

Likewise, stab or cut-resistant Vectran fabric [scoop.co.nz] is now relatively common. I've worn turn-out gear which is designed to resist that sort of damage, and while it's expensive, it isn't prohibitively so.

Re:Finally..

[Muad'Dave (255648)]

Vandals can already do a significant amount of damage to a painted metal car body with a knife or even a coin.

My favorite: Brake fluid. Very passive-agressive. Spray it on, and after a couple of days, the paint just sloughs off. I've never done it on purpose, but I did do it accidentally once 8-(.

Re:Finally..

[Omestes (471991)]

They would blend. :/

Corrected it for you.

Re:Finally..

[Zymergy (803632)]

Great! Now the kids are gonna want designer 'clothes' for their cars.
A Ralph Lauren skin, or a Prada Skin, and even some of those ludicrous-speed expensive handbags.
I can see the fashion shows being conducted on *actual* runways.... 'Oh the humanity....

-I am sure Larry Flynt has some creative ideas for 'skin' designs for his new BMW 'GINA car too... a very slippery slope... LOL (Cool, I just made a Double Entendre!)

It winked!

[mortonda (5175)]

Any car that winks at you has to be taken seriously... ;)

Re:It winked!

[mrbluze (1034940)]

On the youtube link someone posted a comment I had to quote: people dont want a car that feels like a condom. ROFL

Re:It winked!

[ozmanjusri (601766)]

people dont want a car that feels like a condom

BMW drivers do.

They're all dicks.

Re:It winked!

[A nonymous Coward (7548)]

What's the difference between a porcupine and a BMW?

The porcupine has its pricks on the outside.

I'll take "National driver stereotypes" for $500

[by Anonymous Coward]

German cars: Drivers are super-aggressive. They drive fast and push the car to its limits. Ignore them and they will accelerate away. Usually equipped with electronic countermeasures. If a German car is speeding, you can too. Never pass a German car. If it's going slow enough for you to keep up, there must be a reason. The German car driver is a fanatic -- willing to tolerate any amount of maintenance expense because of the joy of driving on those days when the car works properly.

Japanese cars: Drivers THINK they have a German car, when in fact they don't. These people have an inferiority complex -- anxious to prove that their Honda Accord is a drop-in replacement for a BMW 745LI, while secretly planning to buy a BMW next time. Well known taking risks that the German car drivers cannot afford to take. If you are passed at high speed by a Japanese car, rest assured they will draw out whatever law enforcement might be around. Be prepared to call 911 on your cell for an ambulance.

Korean cars: These people are trying to optimize the Total Cost of Ownership. They don't enjoy driving very much, but they spend very little money doing it. Similar to the Japanese car owner, the Korean owner is anxious to prove that his Hyundai Sonata is a drop-in replacement for a Honda Accord, while secretly planning to buy an Accord next time. Let's take a moment of silence to remember those early Korean car buyers and their dreadful machines.

American cars: Drivers are not paying attention. They didn't pay attention when they bought the car, why would you expect them to pay attention while driving it? Some will exceed the speed limit, but only in a straight line -- often beyond the limits of the brakes and suspension. The American car driver laughs about Korean cars, until he discovers that his own car is a lemon. Secretly planning to buy a Hyundai Sonata next time. American cars are the car of choice for people who like to complain about all the OTHER cars and drivers.

Very cool

[tsa (15680)]

The video is really cool, but was it a real car or a computer model? And I wonder how the fabric behaves at high speeds. And how do you wash the car? I have loads of other questions but I think the concept is fantastic. Cars that can change shape! Mmmmm... :)

Re:Very cool

[mortonda (5175)]

Gives a new concept to Transformers, doesn't it? They can now wear clothes!

Re:

[Mordok-DestroyerOfWo (1000167)]

I wonder if it would shrink in the rain...

Re:Very cool

[Digital Vomit (891734)]

"Bumblebee! Put some pants on! I can see your 'Cybertron'!"

Re:

[JediLow (831100)]

Check out the video thats linked to it - there's some footage of an actual car (which is covered, so we can't tell for sure if it really is the skinned GINA).

Linux featured as well

[emj (15659)]

Check out the trailer: you have Linux booting on a huge screen in the background.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i_sZtw0edo&feature=related [youtube.com]

hope they thought this through

[immakiku (777365)]

So the chassis is still rigid right? Imagine unintentional impacts with external objects. The skin was meant to be protection for the car and driver. Flying rocks, small animals while the car is parked, pranksters, and thieves of engine parts make this not work so well. As well psychologically the driver will feel less protected in this new concept of a fabric skin. Imagine if your house was made out of cardboard... On the other hand I always like making cars lighter. I can see this becoming the norm if all the kinks are worked out.

Re:hope they thought this through

[Max Littlemore (1001285)]

I can see this becoming the norm if all the kinks are worked out.

It's fabric. The kinks don't get worked out, they get ironed out. Pay attention.

Re:

[spandex_panda (1168381)]

They said in TFA that the shell is NOT part of the crash design, that the space frame takes all this into account, so there is not much purpose left for the shell... Small rocks though... stone chips would be game over! I guess the aerodynamics would be interesting too. Maybe at high speeds you could tighten the fabric up, stretch it so it doesn't deform?

Re:

[badboy_tw2002 (524611)]

Dunno, there are some tough fabrics out there. Ever hear of Kevlar? Last time I checked bullets go through car doors but not Kevlar.

Re:hope they thought this through

[oconnorcjo (242077)]

I wear a kevlar vest as part of my job and while thick, it is flexible.

Re:hope they thought this through

[mrbluze (1034940)]

So the chassis is still rigid right?

Yes, but after you've had it in overdrive for any length of time it suddenly goes limp for at least 10 minutes.

Re:hope they thought this through

[dlevitan (132062)]

small animals while the car is parked

The car is parked in a driveway. A cat jumps onto the hood expecting a nice warm sunny place. Next thing it knows, the hood opens up, swallows the cat, the car emits a nice burp, and your gas tank increases by a few gallons. Sounds good to me :).

Skin-schmin

[LoudMusic (199347)]

First off it's a concept vehicle. The point is to try new things, good or bad, to see how it works.

Moving forward, the skin of this car is almost purely for aerodynamic effect. There is a certain amount of visual additive, and it keeps the wind and dirt off the occupants. In reference to other mechanical value, there are plenty of cars which have no skin at all and are faster than pretty much any other production road going vehicle. Ariel's Atom [arielmotor.co.uk], to name one. Cars don't need skins. Hell, look at motorcycles. The passengers aren't even contained in the vehicle!

I think it's an awesome idea. Of course, my current roadster is paint chipped all to hell and being able to replace body panels of fabric would be rather appealing, but think about washing your car. Strip it down like bed sheets and throw the skin in the washing machine. Want a new paint job? Maybe a thousand dollars of fabric, or perhaps even just a dye job. You could change your car's color in a matter of minutes.

That brings up a really interesting point. How do the police identify cars? Color and shape? Well those two are irrelevant with this vehicle. You can change the shape while you're moving and theoretically the color in about 10 minutes, I figure. It goes into a parking garage as a red roadster and comes out as a green pickup truck.

Most importantly, and realistically, I'm sure the weight savings are impressive. And saving weight improves performance both in the go fast and the save fuel sense of the term. Imagine this combined with the Tesla Roadster. Shazam!

Interesting concept...

[HockeyPuck (141947)]

Which is exactly what that is, a concept, BMW comes up with an idea and floats it with the public to see what they think. Saturn did this with plastic bodies, "you'll never get a dinged door from a loose shopping cart.." While the metal skin of a car doesn't provide much protection, I bet it does add quite a bit to the weight of a car, and quite a bit of manufacturing (stamping, painting etc..) than a textile based covering.

At least they're thinking different.

Like any good looking lady....

[r_jensen11 (598210)]

I'd love to see this car in the shower. Or, at least for the instance of cars, either the front yard or the car wash.

How the hell would you wash these things? Something makes me think that a sponge and a hose just wouldn't cut it....

Bah!

[lahvak (69490)]

This has been done before: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velorex [wikipedia.org]

Good god

[soccerisgod (585710)]

"Design fuhrer"? I wonder if that guy has any idea what kind of insult this represents to most Germans. Probably not.

It's official, BMW caters to little children first

[mxs (42717)]

The visuals of that video are interesting, the soundtrack is beyond condescending.

Here is a literal transcript.

"GINA is an acronym -- a set of letters -- that stand for geometry -- shapes -- and function -- how things work -- an N -- n is a way of saying 'an infinite number' -- of adaptations -- meaning, there is a lot of change possible."

Their target audience does not know that an acronym is a set of letters, that geometry deals with shapes, that function is related to how things work, that N is a variable, and that adaptating means changing.

He goes on to babble a whole lot of meaningless babbling. "Context over Dogma, that's it!" are the last words in that presentations. Seldomly have I heard a saying so devoid of meaning.

It works on airplanes

[tramm (16077)]

Airplanes used fabric skins [wikipedia.org] for years. They travel much faster than automobiles, so the strength isn't an issue. Even during WWII, most aluminum bodied aircraft used fabric covered control surfaces to allow easy repair of combat damage -- it is much easier to sew a new patch over a rip than it is to rivet aluminum patches.

Re:Sounds interesting...

[mortonda (5175)]

A lot of people are questioning the crash safety, but the metal skin of a car doesn't really have anything to do with that anyway. Stuff flying up on the road could be a problem, though it seems like that stuff always hits and chips the windshield.

I think the most obvious danger would be someone taking a knife to the skin to break into the car and hotwire it. Or is this material stronger than that?

The metal skin has a lot to do crash safety

[Viol8 (599362)]

Most cars (not trucks) these days are monocoque - they do not have a chassis. Therefor the strength of the vehicle is contained in the entire body as a whole from roof to doors to underbelly. About the only bits that don't matter are the wings over the wheels. Sure , theres extra crash protection built into the engine bay but thats in addition to the stregth of the rest of the vehicle. If you build a fabric car body you're back to using chassis' and the poor compromises they entail.

Re:There's a frame under the fabric

[gbjbaanb (229885)]

A car made out of tubular struts is going to be a lot stronger than the usual cars. Racing cars have their interior replaced with struts for roll and crash cages for the real occasions when they crash and tumble.

even ordinary cars are basically thin metal stretched over a cage, that's why the door pillars and windscreen are made from hefty bars, the thin bit of metal in your doorframe isn't going to save you from a side-on collision, but the door pillar will. So, I can't see this being any less safe simply because the bit in between are more obvious.

I think the most important aspect of reduced safety would be in crumple zones, a strut-based car wouldn't necessarily have these, or at least to the same extent that an ordinary car has.

Don't forget a lot of cars are made from carbon-fibre now. This wouldn't be any real difference to them.

Re:

[JediLow (831100)]

To reply to some of my questions about it: "The special fabric is supported by a metal wire structure. At specific points, the high-strength metal is enhanced by carbon struts with a higher flexibility. They are used predominantly for round, moving contours with a particularly narrow radius."

Taken from the press release found here [worldcarfans.com]

Re:stupid?

[jumpingfred (244629)]

Are you saying that the thin sheet metal is providing the strength of the car? I was always under the impression that the frame was providing that rigidity of the car.

Re:Keying

[Miseph (979059)]

I tested this theory by keying my jeans... while it somewhat hurt my thigh, the cloth was quite unaffected.

My conclusion: cloth is more resistant to minor cosmetic damage than painted sheet metal, and harder to cut than flash.*

Seriously though, cloth is actually quite resistant to things like impact and scratching, which to me sounds like a great reason to make parts which are really prone to little other than cosmetic damage out of it (keep in mind that in a serious accident, the damage which we are concerned with is not to the painted sheet metal on the outside, it's to the frame and chassis... if those are essentially undamaged, then any damage is really just cosmetic). Even a flimsy t-shirt requires some serious twisting or a tremendous amount of blunt trauma to take any noticeable damage, and something like canvas is substantially tougher, not to mention Kevlar and other synthetics which are highly resistant even to sharp trauma.

*Do not try this at home, goodness knows I didn't. All experimental data is fabricated... get it ated. I crack myself up.