BMW GINA Light Visionary concept revealed
June 10, 2008 by George Skentzos
As promised earlier, BMW has unveiled its revolutionary GINA Light Visionary Model concept, which features a shell made entirely of cloth.
At first this may seem like a very strange and irrelevant innovation, however both the aestheic and functional applications are quite staggering.
The oddly named GINA stands for Geometry and Functions In “N” Adaptions, not quite the most eloquent abbreviation.
The two-seater roadster has an almost entirely seamless outer skin created by overlaying a flexible textile cover that stretches across a moveable substructure.
Crasworthiness is also handled by this underlying substructure, meaning the design possibilites for the outer shape are endless.
Individual features such as the headlights and kidney grille are revealed only when they are needed and are otherwised hidden under the special fabric cover. As soon as the driver turns on the lights or additional cooling is needed, the contour of the front end changes.
Similarly, the rear spoiler lifts at a certain speed for added down force whilst maintaining the shape of the rear end and concealing the mechanical components.
Due to the translucent properties of the outer skin, brake lamps and turn signals are revealed only when they are illuminated.
While this dry-cleanable concept is likely never to see production, familiarities with the M1 Homage concept are undeniable and could still hint toward BMW ressurecting its pinnacle performance car.
Click through to the next page for the photo gallery and press release.
Pages: Page 1 Page 2
Pages: Page 1 Page 2
Print it: 
AS LONG AS IT DOESN’T NEED IRONING!
Absolutely, totally, utterly, ridiculously stupid idea. I can just imagine how much it would cost to replace the ’skin’ on this thing every time some little wnkr came along with a knife or something sharp. So impractical it defies belief, even for a show car.
Very cool. Not great looking, but the concept that a car doesn’t have to have a metal skin is very cool. Opens up a world of possibilities.
TuffGuy – How many rag tops get knifed these days? Not many I reckon. Same thing goes for this.
I would like to see how it look driving at even 100km/h, it would be flapping about like an 80 year old. No offense old people.
god… its a concept people..
i didnt like it at first.. but it grew on me.. and its about time we started thinking a bit outside the box
Im guessing this is a big clue as to the look of the next Z4, but christ i thought they were toning down the whole bangle-butt, thats gotta be the most in-your-face one yet.
That is extremely cool. One of the few decent ideas that have come out of Bangle since his time with BMW.
Wow it almost resembles the old batmobile, very cool indeed
I see their point but how practical? What next a latex version for the German S&M fans. Mmmmmm Kinky
This is the most sensational and unbelievable car I’ve ever seen!
This is one of the most awesome cars I have ever seen.
I cannot see how this would ever work in the real world, but I love the concept anyway.
BMW is one of the most brilliant car companies in the world.
Hats off to the Germans, they sure do lead the way in automotive engineering innovations.
wow! watcht he video! the pictures don’t do it justice. Honestly, sometimes car designs are more about creating ideas and works of art, more than something functional. This is BMW doing a conceptual design aimed at displaying their creative abilities and conceptual indenuity, not about creating the next “camry”
watch the video, and see how the front lights open up like eyes, and how the engine pops out of the bonet like rib cages on a human, it really is a work of art! unbelievable! probably one of the top 10 car concepts from the last 100 years easily. Whether it gets built or not does not detract or add to it’s ingenienuity. As a concept alone it pushes the boundries, and it is one of the few designs that can be looked at as a true peice of engineering art.
good work BMW
After seeing how the engine bay opens i can see why its perverted creators called it ‘gina’ – dropping the first two letters ‘va’ from the name… Very clever bmw…
Ahem….
I think I’ll save the Lycra cladding for my girlfriend, whose curves are far more appealing than this thing :) This is how I’d imagine my wife to look in Lycra :(
Not sure how good the ANCAP rating with cloth panels would be – methinks not too good…..
The structure provides the crash safety, Reckless, not the panels. At least you wouldn’t need the jaws of life for a serious bingle. My dear ma’s dress making scissors could be used to free occupants!
wow as some one that is keen to get into the automotive design industry i was clapping my hands in exitment when i saw this. ( i really was )
Not a new idea, but just great to see a car company saying we know its not practical but what if just what if.
these are great times really great times.
good work BMW.
All I can say is “what do you normally put inside a big condom??? That’s right a big DICK and that is what one would look like driving around in that thing. :)
Absolute genius, the best concept car i’ve seen. It really does open up the possibilities. Yes it may or may not be practical, but what concept car is practical?
I’m thinking you guys need to proof read, and double check your articles before submission.
Also, what’s the go with the Press Release… “Adaptions?” Is that even a word? I think it’s supposed to be “Adaptations”. Did you double check this before reporting it?
“Crasworthiness” … geeze guys
I think this concept is one of the best ideas.
I don’t see any problems in it.
For the people that think that is impossible, see first the wicked Z1.
The future in car design has finally taken a new direction. Although this is not the first cloth or morf vehicle, it is the first to incorporate a changing body line with surprising hidden lights and engine bay. If BMW continue on this line of engineering, i am confident that all vehicles in the future will owe their designs to GINA.
Auto/ Designer accuses BMW: they copied me. The Public Prosecutor’s office in Rome is investigating
28-02-2009 11:52
“The ‘Gina’ concept car covering was patent protected ”
Rome, 28 Feb. (Apcom) – The ‘Gina’ BMW is a prize-winning concept car, but the idea of using a fabric covering for the bodywork is now said to have been copied from an Italian. This is the subject of the lawsuit initiated by fashion designer Giuseppe Bianco, owner of a number of young fashion labels, and filed with the Rome Public Prosecutor a few days ago. Public Prosecutor Marcello Monteleone is believed to be assessing the case presented by lawyer Carlo Cirillo, which contains allegations of counterfeiting under articles 473 and 474 of the penal code and under the provisions of the so-called ‘industrial property code’, as defined in the law of 10 February 2005, number 30, article 127.
Specifically, according to the lawsuit, Bianco designed an exclusive procedure in 2005 by which any covering material, from leather to fabric to more technical materials, could be applied to the external body of cars and other motor vehicles, “making the covering impermeable and resistant to atmospheric agents”. After registration of the patent, exhibition at the 2006 Bologna Motor show, and coverage on the Tg5 Italian TV channel, Bianco was confident, happy in the knowledge that he had invented something innovative. Then, in the middle of 2008 he discovered that BMW had presented a concept car with a fabric body: the Gina, acronym for ‘Geometry and functions in ‘n’ adaptions’. So Bianco felt that there was nothing for it but to assert his rights.
The battle between this small inventor from Italy and the German colossus began last August, when lawyer Carlo Cirillo informed the legal offices of BMW that his client was the “owner of the rights following the filing of a formal application to register the patent for a fabric covering for motor vehicles” and warning the German company to “cease any activity in conflict with this”. After further contacts between lawyer Carlo Cirillo and the legal consultants from BMW’s patents office, and despite all the documentation presented in support of Bianco’s case, the Gina was exhibited at the museum in Munich and from 11 to 15 February of last year at the Salon Concept Car Hotel National des Invalides Plauce Vebaun, in Paris.
As reported in the newspapers, at that event in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, the Gina won the award of ‘Grand prix du plus beau concept car de l’annèe 2008′. But Bianco was not willing to let matters lie. He made a video with his accusations and posted it on Youtube. The process involved in this work on the car and the application of the materials, as shown on the carbodydesign website, source BMW press office, is exactly the same as the one he designed. In his lawsuit, the designer also refers to a visit by a BMW manager to his stand at the Motorshow. Lawyers Carlo Cirillo and Pamela Baglivo, who presented his case with the collaboration of lawyer Micol Cupo Pagano, explain: “Our client hopes that this will throw light on the matter.”
Lawyer Carlo Cirillo adds: “It is clear that if the judicial authorities recognize this as a violation of Mr. Bianco’s patent rights, we are looking at damage on a huge scale, taking into consideration the enormous publicity potential of the internet coverage used in handling this issue. So I hope that this will bring protection to the offended party, the small businessman, against a multinational company with great economic resources.”
Designer in battle against BMW for “Gina”
COVERING SYSTEM CONTESTED: CASE FILED AGAINST THE GERMAN CARMAKERS AT THE ROME PUBLIC PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE.
Source: Corriere della Sera 01/03/2009 – Michele Manno
Rome
It is certainly a strange case that has ended up on the desk of the Public Prosecutor in Rome.
You could almost say that the two contestants are the present situation and the future.
The present situation is represented by designer Giuseppe Bianco; the future by the well-known BMW car manufacturers.
Why future? Because BMW recently won an award in Paris for the most beautiful “Concept Car of 2008”.
The car has an unusual name: ”Gina”. And we know for a fact that, like Gina Lollobrigida and all other women, Gina loves elegant clothes. So much so that she has been called the “Light visionary model”.
She is a car that we will never actually see on the road, like all “concept cars” which, by definition, propose new ideas destined to take shape on the roads of everyday life some time in the near future. The idea is in the composition of the car body, consisting principally of an elasticized fabric stretched over the frame which can be modified at the touch of a button, depending on the driver’s tastes. So it is a fabric to suit all occasions, from a simple meal in a pizzeria to a Gala evening in Monte Carlo. It is a kind of travelling haute couture wardrobe.
But this is where the present, with its laws and regulations, impacts on “Gina’s” destiny. Fashion designer Giuseppe Bianco has initiated a case against BMW, alleging counterfeit and the violation of the industrial property law, claiming that it was he who, in 2005, invented the exclusive procedure by which it is possible to apply any type of covering (leather, fabric and technical materials) to the body of a car or motorbike, thus making “the coverings themselves impermeable and resistant to atmospheric agents”. Before turning to the justice system, in this case public prosecutor Marcello Monteleone, Giuseppe Bianco’s lawyers warned BMW not to continue any activities connected with the use of this process. But the car was still presented.
Whatever the truth of the matter – and legal battles over patents are usually complex – perhaps one day we will hear the verdict. It is up to the judiciary to decide who is right and who is wrong: but for once the case does not concern murder, disputes or violence, but the future of a car; and the prosecution and defence have to make a decision about “Gina”.
hi,Sometimes I Make a design for the front car’s lights, drawing on paper, a very great and comparable models in the market any possibility to send you something of these drawings?