BMW Gina Concept
06-09-08, 11:18 PM
#1
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BMW Gina Concept
Long before it built cars, the Bayersche Motoren Werke was busy building airplanes. That was before WWI, when planes were built with cloth stretched over rigid, lightweight frames. Under the category of "No New Ideas," BMW has reached back to those, ummm, simpler times to inspire tomorrow's (well, maybe another decade's) BMW car. Read the full press release after the jump...
06-10-08, 09:11 AM
#6
Lexus Champion
This really does present some strong potential... I'm sure the skin weighs a tiny fraction of what sheet metal normally does, and if the underlying frame itself is sufficient enough for crash protection and chassis structure and doesn't weight any more out of necessary reinforcements then this might be a great way to make an ultra light weight vehicle.
My only concerns are the durability of the skin... will it stretch over time? Fade? Rip? I'm sure they've taken all of this into consideration or at least will have if it ever gets past the concept exercise stages. That and possibly noise, though I know well enough that synthetic fabrics can be made with some pretty crazy properties these days and could easily be made to block as much or more noise than a single layer of steel.
Consider any car with a space frame... like the Corvette for example. The body panels on that car provide virtually no structural support... it's not unibody, it's a space frame design. The panels are really just there for cosmetics, aerodynamics, and to shield the occupants from the outside world / elements / noise. If the same thing could be done with a much lighter weight skin, then it sure would be neat.
My only concerns are the durability of the skin... will it stretch over time? Fade? Rip? I'm sure they've taken all of this into consideration or at least will have if it ever gets past the concept exercise stages. That and possibly noise, though I know well enough that synthetic fabrics can be made with some pretty crazy properties these days and could easily be made to block as much or more noise than a single layer of steel.
Consider any car with a space frame... like the Corvette for example. The body panels on that car provide virtually no structural support... it's not unibody, it's a space frame design. The panels are really just there for cosmetics, aerodynamics, and to shield the occupants from the outside world / elements / noise. If the same thing could be done with a much lighter weight skin, then it sure would be neat.
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06-11-08, 09:41 AM
#10
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BMWs GINA
A friend just sent this to me and I'm in class so I had to just watch w. sound off, so I have no idea if anything worth while is said ... but it looks like something really cool ... so here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTYiEkQYhWY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTYiEkQYhWY
06-16-08, 12:34 AM
#15
My only concerns are the durability of the skin... will it stretch over time? Fade? Rip? I'm sure they've taken all of this into consideration or at least will have if it ever gets past the concept exercise stages. That and possibly noise, though I know well enough that synthetic fabrics can be made with some pretty crazy properties these days and could easily be made to block as much or more noise than a single layer of steel.
how would you wash it?
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