BMW presents GINA, a new take on car design, materials, and flexibility. The GINA replaces the traditional metal/plastic skin with a textile fabric skin that’s pulled taut around a frame of metal and carbon fiber wires. Even the shape of the car can change. Fascinating and creative design study.
The GINA philosophy offers designers as well as development and production specialists an opportunity to challenge existing principles and conventional processes. Solutions that will benefit the car of the future are examined without predefined rules and from as many perspectives as possible. This also involves questioning what is believed to be set in stone. Does a car roof really have to rest on pillars and be bordered by windows? Do all functions have to be visible at all times, even when they are not needed? How many personalization options does my car offer? Are there any possible alternatives to the rigid body shell made of steel or plastic?
Questions like these lead to groundbreaking, cross-segmental solutions - and visions of the future of individual mobility. An essential principle of the GINA philosophy is to deliberately integrate the potential of new materials and pioneering, innovative constructions into the creative design process, and the idea of challenging existing manufacturing methods and material concepts. BMW Group Design works U.S.A, a subsidiary of the BMW Group that operates globally and caters to companies across the industry, has greatly inspired the design team at BMW Group Design. The design agency's extensive experience with projects for a number of industrial partners outside of automotive engineering, predominantly in the field of material development and production.
It is in the nature of such visions that they do not necessarily claim to be suitable for series production. Rather, they are intended to steer creativity and research into new directions. This approach helps to tap into formerly inconceivable, innovative potential that reaches far beyond the appearance of future cars and takes into account not only materials and structures but also functions and manufacturing processes. The potential requirements of tomorrow's customers serve as a benchmark. In addition to aesthetics, the GINA philosophy also deals with ergonomics, the functional range and all other factors that rule customers' emotional relationship with their car.
All innovations that these cars present focus on the variable adaptation of form and function based on individual and situation-related driver requirements as well as the demands of the driving situation itself. Therefore, both the exterior and the interior are equipped with a variety of components that differ significantly from conventional solutions, not only by the way they look but also in terms of their basic properties.
For example, the GINA Light Visionary Model presents features such as a virtually seamless outer skin made of a textile fabric that stretches across a moveable substructure. Functions are only offered if and when they are actually required. The drastic re-interpretation of familiar functionality and structure means that drivers have a completely new experience when they handle their car. Reducing the car to its essentials and adapting it to the driver's requirements enhances the car's emotional impact and achieves a crucial objective of the GINA philosophy.