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BMW Introduces GINA Concept Car, Covered In Fabric
smithtuna33 writes "Ever wondered what the metal skin on your car is actually good for? Engineers at BMW have decided that fabric might work just as well. The doors literally peel away from the side of the car, the engine bay opens up down the middle, and pretty much everything (such as headlamps) is hidden until the fabric reveals it. It is a stunning concept that has already been influencing BMW's designs. The video is well worth watching."
Check out the video thats linked to it - there's some footage of an actual car (which is covered, so we can't tell for sure if it really is the skinned GINA).
As far as fabric behaving at high speeds, many early (and not so early) planes used fabric for the wing and fuselage coverings.
Its not said anywhere that the inner panels of the car are missing just the outterskin of metal is replaced with fabric. Crash protection is usually a function of inner frames and panels then anything we see on a car as we look it from the outside.
There are already plenty of fabrics which are resistant to casual slashes, and some in the pipeline which are even more durable.
Vandals can already do a significant amount of damage to a painted metal car body with a knife or even a coin. If the repair costs of the fabric are competitive with metal, it might even reduce costs over the life of the vehicle.
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
Are you saying that the thin sheet metal is providing the strength of the car? I was always under the impression that the frame was providing that rigidity of the car.
To reply to some of my questions about it: "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."
Taken from the press release found here
They said in TFA that the shell is NOT part of the crash design, that the space frame takes all this into account, so there is not much purpose left for the shell... Small rocks though... stone chips would be game over! I guess the aerodynamics would be interesting too. Maybe at high speeds you could tighten the fabric up, stretch it so it doesn't deform?
like phosphorescent desert buttons singing one familiar song
I wear a kevlar vest as part of my job and while thick, it is flexible.
I miss the Karma Whores.
There are fabrics that can withstand a running chainsaw, and they are in common use.
Likewise, stab or cut-resistant Vectran fabric is now relatively common. I've worn turn-out gear which is designed to resist that sort of damage, and while it's expensive, it isn't prohibitively so.
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
Whilst they did move to metal bodies eventually, parts of the WWII Spitfire (and many other planes) were initially covered in fabric... and they seemed to do ok.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire
man kann nicht nicht kommunizieren
Airplanes used fabric skins for years. They travel much faster than automobiles, so the strength isn't an issue. Even during WWII, most aluminum bodied aircraft used fabric covered control surfaces to allow easy repair of combat damage -- it is much easier to sew a new patch over a rip than it is to rivet aluminum patches.
-- http://www.swcp.com/~hudson/
A car made out of tubular struts is going to be a lot stronger than the usual cars. Racing cars have their interior replaced with struts for roll and crash cages for the real occasions when they crash and tumble.
even ordinary cars are basically thin metal stretched over a cage, that's why the door pillars and windscreen are made from hefty bars, the thin bit of metal in your doorframe isn't going to save you from a side-on collision, but the door pillar will. So, I can't see this being any less safe simply because the bit in between are more obvious.
I think the most important aspect of reduced safety would be in crumple zones, a strut-based car wouldn't necessarily have these, or at least to the same extent that an ordinary car has.
Don't forget a lot of cars are made from carbon-fibre now. This wouldn't be any real difference to them.
I consider any engineer making at least twice his age to be making good money.
I have many friends in the engineering profession and they all make over $80K, including the engineer at a silicone breast making facility.
Another one that comes to mind is an engineer in sales and makes a $70K base and $50K+ commission + bonuses.
Changing to a business major doesn't guarantee that type of salary, only a starting of $45K or less as based upon a recent graduate I know.
if you steal from one source, that is plagiarism, if you steal from many, well, that's just research.
Some of the very early sports cars (1930's) had bodies made of fabric stretched over a wooden frame. Apparently some early hot rods did too, because I think NHRA rules specifically ban this kind of body. Its a fire hazard.