BMW CAR DESIGN DEPARTMENT

BMW's design department has been working overtime lately. Just last month, the German automaker unveiled its M1 Homage Concept at the Villa d'Este Concours on the shores of Lake Como, Italy. Now, Munich has officially taken the wraps off of a new design study called the GINA Light Visionary Model, a creation BMW says shouldn't be thought of as "just another concept car," but rather "a whole new approach to automotive design."
With its GINA (Geometry and Functions In "N" Adaptions) model, BMW set out to explore the creative freedom that might be offered with future cars while using a traditional front-mounted eight-cylinder engine and rear-drive platform. The surface of the concept features a new fabric material that BMW says is highly resistant to expansion, durable, and flexible. Underneath the covering material is a light aluminum subframe that is moveable via electric and hydraulic controls, allowing the surface itself to be reshaped according to the owner's desire. The usual elements of production cars -- doors, wheel arches, a trunk lid, engine hood, and roof -- are not present in the conventional sense. Rather, the body consists of just four components: a front panel that leads to the edge of the windscreen, two side panels (one on each side of the car), and a rear deck panel.