German manufacturer thinks way outside the box

The most extraordinary thing about BMW’s revolutionary GINA is its outer skin, which is made entirely out of textile fabric that’s pulled taut around a frame of metal and carbon fibre wires. The skeleton of the car is controlled by electro-hydraulic devices and can actually move and change shape beneath the fabric skin. How cool is that? Beyond cool.

For example, the headlights of the GINA (which stands for “Geometry and Functions in ‘N’ Adaptations”) can be revealed or concealed by the car’s “skin”, much like blinking eyes. The bonnet opens from the centre, rather than the front, as the fabric parts to expose the engine. Again, how cool is that!

Then there are the hinge-free doors, which, as the a couple of the photos below show, swing up and out in a graceful, scissor-like motion.

More photos:

And watch a video about the GINA:

[Source: Autoblog]