This is the BMW GINA, a shape-shifting sports car concept unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.
Supercar Blondie’s Sergi Galiano got the chance to check it out in Germany, and it looks absolutely insane.
You can watch his full review here!
READ MORE! We got behind the wheel of the Porsche Mission X, and it’s even crazier than first imagined
For starters, the BMW GINA is covered in a fabric skin.
BMW claims the elastic, water resistant, translucent man-made fabric – polyurethane-coated Spandex – is resilient and durable.
Apparantently, it resists high or low temperatures, doesn’t swell or shrink, and the movement doesn’t slack or damage the fabric.
That leads us nicely onto the next feature – its abaility to change shape.
The body of the BMW GINA changes its shape according to exterior conditions and speeds.
It also allows the driver to change its shape at will, too.
The fabric is stretched over a frame with moving parts; shapes are formed beneath the skin by an aluminum wire structure.
At points where flexibility is needed such as the ducts, door openings and spoiler, flexible carbon struts are used.
The shape of the frame is controlled by several electric and hydraulic actuators.
The headlights, for example, are revealed when small motors pull the fabric open from slits in an eyelid-like fashion.
And access to the engine can be gained through a slit that opens down the middle of the hood.
As the fabric is translucent, the tailights simply shine through it.
The BMW GINA has just four “panels” – the hood, two side panels, and the trunk.
Its skin actually appears seamless, but it can “grow” out its rear spoiler for stability at high speed.
The doors open in a betterfly style and are each covered by a fabric piece reaching all the way from the nose of the car to their trailing edge which, when closed, leaves a perfectly smooth surface.
There’s a seamless transition from the exterior of the BMW GINA to its interior.
When the car is parked, its steering wheel and instruments sit in an “idle” position on the center console to allow the driver easy entry.
The steering wheel and instruments assume their correct positions when the driver presses the start button.
The headrest rises from the seat once the driver is seated, too.
It sounds wild, but it’s something else entirely to watch.
Scroll up to watch the full vid!
