BMW GINA Light Visionary Model concept (2008): first photos and video

By Nargess Shahmanesh-Banks

First Official Pictures

10 June 2008 00:00

Who’d have guessed that BMW’s latest concept car would be made of cloth? The GINA Light Visionary Model – unveiled today – is a far-flung research concept from Munich that has shaped the latest generation of BMWs. This car can change shape and surface at the flick of a switch, and the 'GINA' principles it espouses have been used to craft today's BMW design language.

Fancy flame surfacing today? No worries – tap a switch and your bodywork goes all taut-edged and angry. Prefer to go more classical and clean-edged? Not a problem. GINA does it all.

BMW GINA: what it all means

BMW design has been known to ruffle a few conservative feathers in the past, and today's disclosure of its GINA process is bound to raise eyebrows. Standing on its 20-inch alloys, the Light Vision Model concept looks like a modern-day BMW sports car, displaying taut sculpted muscles and the brand’s unmistakable signature form language of flame surfacing.

Yet the Light Visionary Model is not made of metal but of cloth. The virtually seamless stretch fabric is secured on a meshwork of metal wires that shields the movable substructure beneath.

Made of cloth?! Has Chris Bangle finally lost the plot?

Bear with us here. The BMW group design director explained at length to CAR the method in his madness at a private viewing ahead of the official media launch in the newly renovated BMW museum in Munich.

The Light Vision Model is part of a project that has shaped BMW design for a decade and led to ground-breaking developments such as iDrive and flame surfacing. It's the ultimate expression of the company's GINA design mantra. ‘The cloth can change your mind about what a car can be,’ he says mysteriously. Click ‘Next’ below to read more of Bangle’s explanation...

UPDATED VIDEO: BMW GINA Light Visionary Model: Premiere

Watch the GINA car in BMW's promotional video below

By Nargess Shahmanesh-Banks