The skin-like silver cloth stretched over BMW’s new GINA Light Visionary Model (GINA stands for “Geometry and Functions IN ‘N’ Adaptions”) is actually seamless fabric covered in a flexible wire mesh frame.
As a result, the car is capable of changing shape, bending and twisting like a living animal. The fabric is made of polyurethane-coated Lycra and is water resistant.
The aluminum frame is controlled by electric and hydraulic actuators, allowing the owner to alter the car’s body shape at whim.
A whole host of questions about the design comes to mind. How is tension created to stabilize the fabric at high speeds?
Also, a car covered with a light fabric has much less mass that a gigantic SUV. The difference in force between the two cars upon impact at highway speed would be large enough to probably demolish the person in the GINA.
But I suppose the designers weren’t too concerned about the consumer plausibility of it all (or people with scissors). This purely artistic, though perfectly drivable, endeavor is destined for the BMW museum in Munich, Germany.