oh..my..god..The BMW GINA
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oh..my..god..The BMW GINA
A car that changes shape? WTF. this is a point in history in car design and progression. Hats off to BMW designers. Watch the video at the bottom of the page.
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/bmw-builds-a-ca.html
video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTYiEkQYhWY
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/bmw-builds-a-ca.html
video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTYiEkQYhWY
Last edited by gomez; Jun 11, 2008 at 03:39 PM.
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Interesting concept, but it probably looks pretty strange at higher speeds (think Grandpa's face when he would ride a motorcycle). That video made me feel like I was watching soft ****, maybe it was the music. 
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Interesting indeed.
At first, I thought the material was something like the flexible alloys or whatever the military and NASA are testing for future aircraft, but its a fabric skin over a mechanised skeleton... almost organic like. Almost makes you think it's alive, the way the headlights open up like eyes, and the way the hood opens up like someone going for heart surgery.
Pretty cool stuff.
At first, I thought the material was something like the flexible alloys or whatever the military and NASA are testing for future aircraft, but its a fabric skin over a mechanised skeleton... almost organic like. Almost makes you think it's alive, the way the headlights open up like eyes, and the way the hood opens up like someone going for heart surgery.
Pretty cool stuff.
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I think its pretty sick...nice to see them pushing the limits. Wonder how fast it could go before fabric starts to deform. Would also really suck if someone keyed it haha
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I think it's a great and innovative idea. The fact that the skin is lightweight, semi-transparent, flexible, and (presumably) durable enough to handle real-world use shows that BMW is moving forward faster than most auto makers and it's outside-the-box thinking like that that will establish their reputation as a truly great car company in the future. People have given Bangle a lot of flack in the past, but regardless of whether you like his designs or not, this guy is a genius! The way the headlights open like blinking eyelids, and the hood opens like a mouth was done is such a graceful manner, not to mention the tail lights beaming through the fabric(!), it's all so elegant and sophisticated, unlike any other car on the road! My gosh, I think I'm in love!
I can only hope that BMW decides to put something like this on the market someday soon.
The only foreseeable problem, as far as I can tell, would be replacing whatever complex structure is beneath the skin in the event of a crash. I'm sure programs can be written to program the under-skin structure to move around and assume many different shapes so the owner could quite literally create the form of his/her vehicle.
I can only hope that BMW decides to put something like this on the market someday soon.
The only foreseeable problem, as far as I can tell, would be replacing whatever complex structure is beneath the skin in the event of a crash. I'm sure programs can be written to program the under-skin structure to move around and assume many different shapes so the owner could quite literally create the form of his/her vehicle.
Last edited by alzilla300; Jun 12, 2008 at 11:16 AM.
