This is really fantastic- what happens when designers start thinking "what if we didnt use metal for the skin of a car"

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/10/b...odel-revealed/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTYiEkQYhWY

 

this is amazing. nice BMW!

 

pretty incredible....nice find.

 

one word... WOW...

doesnt look half bad also.

 

This is revolutionary! I'm not sure that we'll ever see this in a production car - cost/durability/waterproof/vandalism/etc., but it takes thinking outside the box to a whole new level.

Bravo BMW!

(ps. as cool as it is, I still don't like the 'Bangle butt')

 

That there is some newfangled technology!



so is it pronounced Gee-Na, or Jye-Na??

 

that is indeed cool...sorta like a liquid car. would be nice to have a car that could change shape a lil, like instant flared fenders, instant spoiler...only thing would able to make a material that shifts color...that would be sick as hell.

 

I wonder how strong the stuff is. It would be really cool if it could stand up to collisions and blades, even though I doubt it can. I like it, especially how the tail lights shine through the fabric and how the headlights open like eyes. Cool stuff.

 

Makes sense. I could see manufactures going to it if it's cheaper. A whole new industry being born from it as well. If you think about it, Kevlar is a fabric. And it has been rumored that people have made synthetic spiderweb, which apparently is bulletproof as a fabric. Fabric is more universal when compared to rigid metals. Knifing and punctures (bugs at high speed, hail) could be minimized depending on tech and become a selling point. Even customization would change, different skins for different days (the nice skin for the nice outing). As materials or circumstances change, so could the skin, like getting rigid when an electrical current is applied. And cleaning would require a washer.

 

well a car with a space frame architecture (most modern cars) means the body panels do essentially nothing in terms of collision, its all engineered into the frame. Think if someone banged into your body with something like this, all you have to do is replace the fabric, vs a 3000 dollar paint job,

 

well im sure all the mechanics underneath the car will cost a fortune to replace...the skin doesnt just move on its own, theres something underneath it that runs everything and i bet even a 15mph crash will end up costing thousands!!!

 

Well, not every car will need to be so complex. This is basically a concept to show the capabilities of the fabric. Stretched over a basically normal car, this could definitely cut costs out of the paint job portion of a collision. Plus, I'd imagine that small door dings from idiots in parking lots would pretty much cease to exist, or at least cease to be noticeable (not sure if this is a good thing or not).

 

unless they ding your frame hahaha

 

Damn, i hope they come out with a conversion kit soon!

 

That's taking lightweight to a whole 'nother level!

 

It would suck to think that the old weekend pastime of waxing a car could be replaced with an afternoon Febreeze Fabric Cleaner treatment.

 

wait, what? how in the sam hell did they get enough vagina skin to cover an entire car?

 

lol, meguiars and gain are gonna do a colabo on a car wash/laundry detergent

i wish i could touch that fabric in person, it seems to have a silky feel to it, id just like to know if it has a glossy touch/look as opposed to a matte dull touch/look

 

thats bad ***

 

pretty cool, but you can say goodbye to monocoques.. LOVE the headlights opening like eyes (the first mod i would do to that car is rewire it so i can make it "wink" at the touch of a button )

Definite advantages in terms of:
- weight (handling / gas mileage)
- cooling (the ultimate vented hood?)
- fender benders / cost to repair (what fender? )

It's good to see manufacturers thinking out of the box for a change. We need another space race to sput materials research a little...

 

Lightweight, ding resistant, replaceable, washable: brilliant
Car fashion, cloths/skins for cars?: uh-oh...

 

...as demonstrated on the Nieuport monoplane circa 1910.

 

buzzkill alert!

 

they named the car *gina*???

 

heh, how do you wax/buff it? drop it off at a dry cleaners ?

got a door ding? bust out the iron I guess?

so if you wash it with warm water, will it shrink?

no more meguiars quick detail spray, I'm shoutin' it out!

whew boy, in all seriousness, this thing is awesome, i especially like the lack of door handles and seams throughout the car, just looks so clean and simple.