BMW unveiled today the BMW GINA Light Visionary Model concept that was announced last week through a video that came out of nowhere showing a heavily camouflaged roadster. One of the most striking features of the BMW GINA Light Visionary Model concept is its body that goes beyond all previous conceptions of car body configuration, design and materials.
The BMW GINA Light Visionary Model body is covered with a highly durable and expansion-resistant fabric material that stretches across its metal structure.
The body of the BMW GINA Light Visionary Model is composed of four elements: one that extends from the front of the vehicle to the edge of the windscreen and down the sides to the rear edge of the doors. The side panels of the BMW GINA Light Visionary Model start at the front where the rocker panels emerge and run across the rear wheel arches into the rear. The fourth component is the central rear deck element.
BMW Press Release:
The key to affecting the development of tomorrow's mobility lies in our readiness to challenge what is established and in the ability to present new options. In order to meet these objectives, BMW Group Design taps into the potential of the GINA principle (Geometry and Functions In "N" Adaptations) which promotes innovative thinking by allowing maximum freedom of creativity. GINA produces dramatically different solutions that affect the design and functionality of future cars.
The GINA Light Visionary Model is an optical expression of selective, future-oriented concepts which provide an example of the manner and extent of this transformation.
BMW Group Design is not just interested in answering the question of how the car of the future will look but primarily wishes to explore the creative freedom it has to offer. Both of these aspects are affected by the requirements that future cars are expected to meet. All ideas that the GINA Light Visionary Model presents are therefore derived from the needs and demands of customers concerning the aesthetic and functional
characteristics of their car and their desire to express individuality and lifestyle. The GINA Light Visionary Model has an almost seamless outer skin, a flexible textile cover that stretches across a moveable substructure. Individual functions are only revealed if and when they are needed.
With this model, BMW Group Design initiates a fundamental discourse about the characteristics that will affect the development of cars in future. It is therefore fundamentally different from concept cars, which reflect what is expected of them by implementing as many elements as possible in a
future production model. In contrast, the GINA Light Visionary Model is a vision of future cars and serves as an object of research.
The seamless car body of the GINA Light Visionary Model.
Putting its visions of tomorrow's car into practice, BMW Group Design has developed a two-seater roadster with the unique dynamic proportions that are typical of its brand. The GINA Light Visionary Model takes the sculptural design that has already been established by a number of production cars to a new, unparalleled conclusion. The car's front and sides, including the doors, create one single uninterrupted, seamless whole that converges to form an optical as well as a structural unit.
In order to create this appearance, it was necessary to move beyond all previous conceptions of car body configuration, design and materials. Therefore, the GINA Light Visionary Model has dispensed with the usual body elements found on production vehicles such as front apron, bonnet, side panels, doors, wheel arches, roof, trunk lid and rear deck. Instead, a new structure with a minimum amount of components has taken their place. A special, highly durable and extremely expansion-resistant fabric material stretches across a metal structure.
This new material offers designers a significantly higher level of freedom of design and functionality.
The body consists of only four elements. The largest component extends from the front of the vehicle to the edge of the windscreen and down the sides to the rear edge of the doors. The large side panels start at the front where the rocker panels emerge and run across the rear wheel arches into the rear. The fourth component is the central rear deck element.
An innovation breaks new ground: car with a flexible outer skin.
The innovation of a flexible outer skin breaks new ground in automotive engineering. This revolutionary solution opens up new design, production and functionality potential. It has a major impact on the interaction between driver and car and enhances it by offering a variety of entirely new options. Some elements of the substructure are moveable. The driver can move them by means of electro and electro-hydraulic controls. This will also change the shape of the outer skin, which can thus be adapted to suit the current situation, the driver's requirements and can also enhance the car's functional range.
The most striking example of this is the headlight design. In normal position, when the headlights are not active, i.e. when there is no necessity to illuminate the road, they are hidden under the special fabric cover. As soon as the driver turns on the lights, the contour of the front end changes. Activated by the metal structure that lies beneath it, the previously closed fabric cover opens to the right and left of the BMW kidney grille and reveals the BMW double head-lights. The rear and the rocker panels of the GINA Visionary Model can also adapt both the shape and function to the driving situation in hand. Both can change the shape of their outer skin to meet the driver's requirement for particularly dynamic motoring. This concept also takes into account a potential interaction with aerodynamic requirements. The design of the rear element allows for automatic lifting of the rear spoiler when a certain speed is reached, thus creating extra downforce on the rear axle at higher speeds. Due to the fact that the entire rear end, including the spoiler, is covered by a single sheet of material that reaches as far as the rear compartment of the interior, the homogeneous shape of the car's rear will not be affected by changes to the spoiler position. The mechanical system that moves the elements remains concealed.
The turn indicators and the taillights function without changes to the shape of the outer skin. Their position, however, is only revealed upon activation. The emitted light shines through the translucent fabric cover, which is permeable to light but not transparent.
The rocker panels demonstrate the formal versatility of the GINA Light Visionary Model with an equally impressive performance. The air duct can be optimised if required. A corresponding movement of the metal structure results in an adjustment of the rocker panel contour to allow for better airflow. At the same time, an additional protruding rocker panel line emerges. The aerodynamic optimization and the length of the line can be infinitely adapted to the driving situation at hand.
Special fabric cover ensures accurate reproduction of material folds.
The fact that the body surface is designed by means of a flexible fabric cover
that stretches across a metal substructure means that the materials used must
meet exacting requirements. Industrially produced hybrid fabric made from a stabilizing mesh netting support and an outer layer that is both water-repellent and resistant to high and low temperatures is suitable for this application.
Another essential material property is a maximum level of dimensional stability.
It must remain dimensionally stable irrespective of the temperature and air humidity it is exposed to even after severe and constant expansion. The dimensional stability helps retain the cover's surface tension for a long period of time. The movement of individual body elements creates accurately reproducible
folds in the material. In its choice of material BMW Group Design was inspired
by exterior and interior architecture. The expertise of seat pattern designers working for BMW Group Interior Design was successfully applied in order to cut the fabric webbing to size with maximum precision, determine the strategic position of attachment points and stretch the material. As a result, the surfaces are remarkably well balanced and due to the steady tension that is retained between any two clearly defined points, the lines are extremely accurate.
The special fabric is supported by a metal wire structure. At specific points,
the high-strength metal is enhanced by carbon struts with a higher flexibility. They are used predominantly for round, moving contours with a particularly narrow radius.
The use of large fabric areas and the possibility of changing the surface contours by moving individual parts of the metal mesh that lies beneath it create a new relationship between form and function. If additional cooling air is required, the BMW kidney grille at the front of the vehicle can be opened. Because the overall surface of the special fabric covering remains unchanged, the contraction at the front of the vehicle, which is necessary for functional reasons, has to be compensated for by extra tension in other areas. The result is an optically attractive interaction between various body parts that introduces a new dimension to sculptural design. The widening of the kidney grille openings is activated by a movement of the metal mesh in the front area of the side panels. This creates more tension, which becomes visible by the emergence of an additional character line. The development of this new contour tenses the front of the vehicle: the kidney grille opens up.
Innovative body structure introduces new functional dimensions.
The high-precision fit of the material to the metal mesh also allows surface changes without slackening the tension. In this case, opening of the surface by moving the respective steel mesh struts creates precisely defined folds in the material. The GINA Light Visionary Model uses this option to display a function that corresponds to the opening of the hood in conventional vehicles. The material opens at the center of the engine cover and can be folded to the far right and left along an opening line that is approximately 0.5 meters long, to allow the driver or mechanic access to the service points in the engine.
The filler caps of the engine oil, cooling and wiper water tanks are now open for servicing. Opening and closing is similar to the mechanism on a doctor's traditional medical bag, where clip-lock fasteners are held together in the middle by a rail.
The effect of the accurate surface material draping is even more impressive when the doors are opened. They swing both outwards and upwards. The high number of attachment points for the fabric cover positioned at the front of the car as well as at rear door edges creates a clearly defined and perfectly reproducible bulk of material. The draping is confined to the area between the front door edge and the side panel. Once the doors are closed, the folds in material disappear completely, leaving a perfectly smooth, stretched material surface.
The interior: discourse between driver and vehicle.
In the interior, variability, form and function are united in an inseparable connection. Whenever selected functions are accessed, the driver also changes the appearance of individual car elements. Again, the car's variability is adapted to suit the driver's needs. This creates a close interaction between driver and
car in various different situations.
When the car is parked, the steering wheel and the round instruments - rev counter, speedometer and fuel gauge, which are vertically arranged on the center console, are in idle position. This provides the driver with maximum comfort upon entering the car. Likewise, the seat only assumes its optimised functional position and shape if and when the driver sits down on it.
At that point, the headrest, previously firmly integrated into the seat's backrest, rises up automatically. At the same time, the steering wheel moves towards
the driver and the instrument panel moves in the same direction. The information on the best driver-specific position of both steering column and seat is stored
in the transducer. The engine is started simply by pushing the start/stop button.
The smooth transition of interior and exterior that is typical of BMW convertibles is reinterpreted by the GINA Light Visionary Model. The fabric that covers the rear deck runs into the interior and stretches across the driver and front passenger seats. The same material is also used for the surface design of the door trim and armrests. The shift lever in the center console protrudes from tightly stretched textile bellows.
Driver and front seat passenger look out through a steeply inclined windscreen with the inside rear view mirror integrated into its frame. The side view mirrors are connected to the window frame. A narrow vertical dividing bar located at the center of the windscreen harks back to the typical windscreen division of traditional roadsters.
Innovative thinking put into practice: the GINA Light Visionary Model.
With the GINA Light Visionary Model, BMW Group Design focuses on a wide variety of issues that will determine the future conception of mobility.
It demonstrates the results of intense research into design, functionality, material and production. All ideas that have been put into practice in the GINA Light Visionary Model are derived from the same motivation: to challenge conventional and previously pursued solutions. The quest for alternative options has generated a wide variety of different requirements that potential solutions are expected to meet. The main focus is on providing general versatility and catering to customer requirements with sophisticated solutions. In accordance with the GINA principle, every functionality enhancement helps to create an emotional bond between the driver and their car. The new solutions also allow for the option of fast, flexible and cost-efficient production.
Every innovation demonstrated by the GINA Light Visionary Model also contributes to a clearly optimised resource management. As the quest for sustainability is one of the central issues of the GINA philosophy, new materials and manufacturing processes are expected to consume less resources and energy than previous solutions. Accordingly, the infrastructure used for manufacturing cars that are built in compliance with the GINA principle, has also changed. The manufacturing process requires fewer model-specific tools, and more highly-qualified skilled specialists. In all the areas referred to above, the GINA Light Visionary Model has provided inspiration for more intense research into ideas conceived as a result of maximum creative freedom.
Emotional appeal of roadster models and visionary prospect of future cars.
The solutions conceived as part of this philosophy are not considered separately, but have been pooled in an integrating vision - a vision that is expressed
in the context of an outstanding, fascinating car. The basic features of a roadster with its eight-cylinder combustion engine below a stretched front that applies motive power to the rear wheels in order to move the car along the road defines this context. The synthesis of elementary visions and sheer driving pleasure expressed by the appearance of the GINA Light Visionary Model has a particularly striking emotional impact. Only the particular appearance of a fascinating car with its authentic design that creates a natural aesthetic look can bring to light the significance of the presented innovations.
The GINA Light Visionary Model builds a bridge between vision and reality by presenting a number of features with a striking similarity with those found on production vehicles. The Roadster rests on 20" alloy wheels in a cross-spoke design with a matt silver finish. The car body is comprised of an exceptionally light aluminum space frame. Two double tailpipes for the rear exhaust system, a third brake light integrated into the height-adjustable rear spoiler, an air splitter at the front and a rear-end diffuser in a carbon design also meet the standards of a production vehicle.
Nevertheless, the GINA Light Visionary Model retains its character as an object of research. It demonstrates the innovative force of BMW Group Design and its ability to challenge what is established, to find new solutions and to interpret these in the context of the car of the future at a high aesthetic level. This car is the logical continuation of the GINA principle in action. The GINA principle has already led to a variety of innovative concepts and has production vehicles in ways that are completely new and unprecedented by any other car manufacturer.
BMW Group Design uses concept cars such as the BMW concept car CS1 of 2002 as a step on the way towards putting a particular vision into practice. The CS1 was the first to present features such as the basic principle of the innovative control system - the BMW iDrive. Independently from all other innovative features shown by this concept car, the iDrive has become a series production feature.
Similarly, the GINA principle gave rise to an innovative manufacturing method that allows the manufacturers to decorate outer skin components that have been preformed by conventional methods with individually configured, high-precision contour lines prior to their reintegration into the manufacturing process. The Rapid Manufacturing method utilized for this process was first used during the production of hoods for the BMW Z4 M Roadster and the BMW Z4 M Coupe. In these models, the finished hood has received two distinctive contour lines prior to painting. These are not produced by a pressing tool but embossed into the metal with pin-point precision by a robot-guided steel pin.
Both examples illustrate the challenging route from a vision to a concept and to final series production that is not always straight and direct. With the GINA Light Visionary Model, BMW Group Design shows where this route begins. Not all innovations shown by the GINA Light Visionary Model will proceed to the next stages. In its entirety, however, the visionary look into the future shows the extent to which the BMW Group employs creative potential in its endeavor to respond to the challenges of tomorrow's mobility.
GINA - The BMW Group Design philosophy. Challenging established concepts, hazarding visions.
Successful design arouses desire. In order to achieve this, it is more crucial than ever before that car manufacturers create the conditions that allow customers to establish a close relationship with their cars. Therefore, designers seek ways to promote and intensify people's identification with their car that reach beyond pure aesthetics. In the premium segment in particular, customers demand cars that stir emotions and allow them to express their individuality. BMW Group Design has set another deepened objective for designing new cars that moves today's consumers and their demand for enhanced utility and more versatility to the top of their agenda. An innovative concept introduced by BMW Group Design prepares the ground for this new approach: the GINA (Geometry and Functions In "N" Adaptations) principle grants more freedom for car design. It allows the creation of products with a design and functional range that express individuality and meet the wide variety of requirements of those who are using them.
In the 21st century, customers approach their purchasing decision with a high degree of assertiveness, clearly defined requirements and subjective conceptions - particularly when it comes to selecting their means of transport.
In recent years, the interests and priorities that motivated them have changed and, more importantly, they have become considerably more diversified. This development will continue in the future. Today, the BMW Group is already responding to the highly diversified range of customer requirements and heightened expectations by providing services such as a substantially more varied product range, ever increasing possibilities for personalization and requirement-oriented production among others.
Future customer requirements as a benchmark.
By introducing the GINA philosophy, BMW Group Design presents ways of meeting these challenges in the future. The philosophy expresses the readiness and ability of BMW Group Design to consider individual customer requirements as an integral part of car development. Christopher E. Bangle, Head of BMW Group Design, speaks with conviction when he says: "Personal customer requirements will broaden the context of our products and change the core values that define our industry along the way." For more than ten years now, these issues have inspired Bangle's ideas. Time and time again, these ideas have been motivating the BMW Group Design team to break new ground and to find pioneering solutions. These results have spawned new customer expectations which in turn inspires designers to develop further innovations.
GINA: Geometry and Functions In "N" Adaptations.
The GINA philosophy offers designers as well as development and production specialists an opportunity to challenge existing principles and conventional processes. Solutions that will benefit the car of the future are examined without predefined rules and from as many perspectives as possible. This also involves questioning what is believed to be set in stone. Does a car roof really have to rest on pillars and be bordered by windows? Do all functions have to be visible at all times, even when they are not needed? How many personalization options does my car offer? Are there any possible alternatives to the rigid body shell made of steel or plastic?
Questions like these lead to groundbreaking, cross-segmental solutions - and visions of the future of individual mobility. An essential principle of the GINA philosophy is to deliberately integrate the potential of new materials and pioneering, innovative constructions into the creative design process, and
the idea of challenging existing manufacturing methods and material concepts. BMW Group DesignworksUSA, a subsidiary of the BMW Group that operates globally and caters to companies across the industry, has greatly inspired the design team at BMW Group Design. The design agency's extensive experience with projects for a number of industrial partners outside of automotive engineering, predominantly in the field of material development and production.
It is in the nature of such visions that they do not necessarily claim to be suitable for series production. Rather, they are intended to steer creativity and research into new directions. This approach helps to tap into formerly inconceivable, innovative potential that reaches far beyond the appearance of future cars and takes into account not only materials and structures but also functions and manufacturing processes. The potential requirements of tomorrow's customers serve as a benchmark. In addition to aesthetics, the GINA philosophy also deals with ergonomics, the functional range and all other factors that rule customers' emotional relationship with their car.
With the development of the GINA Light Visionary Model, the BMW Group presents examples of visionary solutions. For the first time, exemplary adaptations of various approaches described by the GINA philosophy are brought to life to illustrate the potential impact of this concept on the future of automotive engineering. The limits of current material properties and manufacturing processes are projected far into the future. All innovations that these cars present focus on the variable adaptation of form and function based on individual and situation-related driver requirements as well as the demands of the driving situation itself. Therefore, both the exterior and the interior are equipped with a variety of components that differ significantly from conventional solutions, not only by the way they look but also in terms of their basic properties.
For example, the GINA Light Visionary Model presents features such as a virtually seamless outer skin made of a textile fabric that stretches across a moveable substructure. Functions are only offered if and when they are actually required. The drastic re-interpretation of familiar functionality and structure means that drivers have a completely new experience when they handle their car. Reducing the car to its essentials and adapting it to the driver's requirements enhances the car's emotional impact and achieves a crucial objective of the GINA philosophy.
Visions spawn innovative concepts.
The strategy of challenging what is established, exploring new possibilities and focusing on customer demands and requirements has inspired the BMW Group to implement a wide variety of innovative concepts. It has also affected the design of production cars in ways that are completely new and unprecedented by any other car manufacturer. A wide range of innovations that have been acclaimed for their virtually revolutionary character is actually based on the GINA philosophy. On the way from vision to production model, visionary ideas have been turned into new concepts.
Both the sculptural design presented by the BMW X Coupe concept car, for example, and the interplay of convex-concave surfaces that has affected the design of all production vehicles, are derived from visions with an innovative power. This power is generated by the unrestricted freedom that characterizes the quest for wider design possibilities. In the example mentioned above, the natural material properties of the outer skin have been deliberately incorporated into the design process. The design process has integrated the twisted surfaces and has used the specific sculptural aesthetics of the convex-concave elements that are created by the material's reaction. The design of the BMW Z4, which has been modeled on the BMW X Coupe concept car, is a striking example.
These visions could only be implemented because of the development of completely new manufacturing technologies. As before, the objectives defined by the GINA philosophy have been achieved thanks to the special expertise of production engineers and their ability to move beyond traditional methods. Their effort has allowed the creation of a form language that has not only significantly enhanced aesthetic standards and the significance of design as an expression of product substance, but also the manufacturing processes themselves.
Versatility in function and form stirs emotions.
Some of the pioneering visions that are based on the GINA philosophy have also been implemented in the interior design of concept cars such as the BMW CS1 concept car of 2002. This car's interior is equipped with control and functional elements that become visible only if and when the driver wishes to avail of them. Thanks to a flexible, Neoprene-covered instrument panel, the driver's attention can focus on the required functions. This situation-oriented variability of form and function invites the driver to engage in a dialogue with his car. Using these functions, the driver experiences an emotional reaction. This is caused by the fact that he can adapt the car's appearance to suit his personal wishes. In this application, the intelligent deployment of flexible material dispenses with the need for complex mechanical features. At the same time, the versatile appearance has a natural aesthetic appeal.
The control concept iDrive, first demonstrated by the BMW Z9 and refined in the BMW CS1 concept car has long since become established as part of BMW production models. It is a perfect enhancement to the spirit of the GINA philosophy, as it is guided by the principle of displaying only those functions to the driver that are relevant to the individual driving situation. The cockpit adjusts to the driver's needs. As he handles the car by interacting with it, the driver forms a strong emotional bond.
Integration of meaningful functions that are relevant to the customer.
It is one of the GINA principles to challenge existing solutions in order to broaden the context, thus extending the scope of possibilities for customers. In the engine compartment of the BMW CS1 concept car, the engine cover has been replaced by flexible stretch material. A graphical display panel provides information on the particular arrangement of the service functions, integrated zip fasteners facilitate easy, hands-on access to the filler caps of the cooling water and wiper water tanks. A number of functions - cover, orientation and access to service points - are integrated into one component in a logical and attractive manner. This deliberately minimalist approach to the deployment of components is an active contribution to the protection of resources.
Rapid Manufacturing for more versatility.
As a result of our interdisciplinary cooperation, we have developed a method that allows manufacturers to decorate outer skin components that have been preformed by conventional methods with individually configured high-precision contour lines prior to their reintegration into the manufacturing process. The GINA design philosophy has been applied to Rapid Manufacturing to create an unparalleled method of manufacturing single components fast, cost-efficiently and with a focus on individual requirements.
This combination of processes was first used during the production of hoods for the BMW Z4 M Roadster and the BMW Z4 M Coupe. These models received their distinctive contour lines at a separate production stage which differed significantly from conventional sheet metal processing. The lines were embossed into the hood with pin-point precision by a robot-guided steel pin. This approach allows for entirely new ways of individualized production.
With Rapid Manufacturing, customer preferences can be implemented when car body elements and other components are designed to the specifications of designers.
New materials and manufacturing processes create a natural aesthetic appeal.
The cockpit surface of the BMW Concept Coupe Mille Miglia 2006, which has been influenced by the technology of industrial origami, is another example of vision-based, revolutionary design. It has produced solutions that reflect several guiding principles of the GINA Philosophy. The number of components is significantly reduced compared to conventional cockpits while completely new methods of combining different materials have provided valuable stimulation
for the conception of innovative production technologies. The manufacturing process has deliberately relied on the expertise and technical skills of highly-qualified specialists, whose competence is a prerequisite for the practical implementation of design visions.
The exterior design of concept cars also reflects innovative concepts resulting from the practical implementation of visionary ideas. Both the sculptural design presented by the BMW X Coupe concept car, for example, and the interplay of convex-concave surfaces that has affected the design of all production vehicles (introduced for the first time in the Z4), are derived from visions with an innovative power. This power is generated by the unrestricted freedom that characterizes the quest for wider design possibilities. The design deliberately uses the interplay of splines as character lines and the natural flow of stretched convex-concave surfaces.
The designer's metal processing ideas for the interior of the BMW Mille Miglia Concept Coupe were inspired by the traditional Japanese art of paper folding. An inherently stable, three-dimensional structure was created from two-dimensional V2A sheets of metal by means of a special laser cutting and folding processes.
This technique produced joints which were strategically employed for integrating ventilation functions into the cockpit without the need for additional elements. The result was an innovative solution with a natural aesthetic appeal that was produced with a minimum amount of tools.
he GINA principle: Priority for sustainable solutions.
The GINA philosophy objective also includes the quest for sustainability on different levels. The search for new materials and production technologies favors solutions that work with less raw material and energy. A minimalist approach to the use of components and production stages yields ecological and economic benefits. As part of our endeavor to create social sustainability, we are looking for production methods that rely on the expertise of highly qualified specialists instead of expensive manufacturing tools.
With its goal-oriented research into new materials, the assessment of production processes without tools such as Rapid Manufacturing and the incentive to incessantly challenge existing solutions, the BMW Group is already equipped with a variety of tools that bring the implementation of the GINA philosophy to life for the customer. Research objects such as the GINA Light Visionary Model demonstrate that the principles of the GINA philosophy grant designers maximum freedom for approaching their subject with visionary thinking. This approach is used for finding solutions that offer customers new possibilities of adapting forms and functions to suit a variety of personal requirements and the driving situation in hand.
They pave the way for innovative ideas that can be implemented in concept cars in order to stimulate series production.
This way, visions can create products that allow drivers to interact with their vehicle in ways that reach far beyond the conventional individualization potential established thus far. The GINA philosophy allows BMW Group Design to support and steadily enhance this interaction and help drivers build a strong emotional relationship with their car. With its sensible and careful use of resources for products and their development, the GINA principle contributes to the sustainability of future car generations. After all, the social significance of the GINA philosophy is a product of its heightened application of social aspects both to the development processes and to the conscious reflection of customer requirements.
