Car manufacturers are crying. Metal prices are going through the roof, fuel prices don't show any signs of abating and to top it all, the EU has set a 2012 deadline for them to meet new C02 emission norms.
While they are trying to reinvent the wheel and the internal combustion engine, it seems there's only so much one can do with what Rudolf Diesel and Karl Benz originally designed. So what can manufacturers do?
If Christopher E Bangle has his way, things could just change drastically. The GINA concept or Geometry and Functions in N Adaptations has been conceived by the BMW design head and BMW Designworks USA as an opportunity for future customers to shape cars according to their preferences.
And yes, it might also help the environment get a darker shade of green as well. Chris Bangle became a household name after the first of his "flame surfaced" cars, the 7 Series hit the roads in 2001-02.
In fact, the Gina concept pre-dates the 7 Series, designed nearly seven years ago and is based on the old Z8 chassis. The car was never shown to anyone, and has come to the forefront now as the company re-opens its new museum in Munich.
According to Bangle, the customer so far has been used to the idea of a car with a roof supported by pillars or all the important functions visible to him at all times. But what if the roof didn't have any pillars to support it? Or if the tail lamps and headlamps are covered, only to become visible when it's re ally necessary?
More From This Section
Bangle's answer is fabric. So, no metal or aluminium or even plastic panels to make up the body structure, but a movable endoskeleton that supports a fabric skin.
Sounds strange at first, but it's actually path breaking. Using zippers and fasteners to support the skin, the bonnet for instance can open down the centre line by nearly 50 cm in the body bag zipper fashion.
This allows easy access to the engine as well as other mechanical components. It can be zipped back into position with no signs of wrinkles to the skin.
The doors are part of the fabric that stretches from the nose to the rear. The manmade stretchable material is resistant to water, heat and cold and doesn't shrink or swell.
A metal wire structure supports the fabric and has flexible carbon struts at points where the fabric needs movement. So if the engine needs air for cooling, the vents expand by themselves and if the car needs more downforce, the rear spoiler changes its shape. While the material is permeable by light, it is not transparent, so its headlights and taillights are not visible until they are turned on.
Bangle says that the car is as heavy as a standard car with painted metal panels, while enjoying near 100 per cent recyclability and utilises less energy and resources to build. It might still not be mass production ready, but it can be used for low-volume production, since it doesn't need any tooling and a single trained technician can complete the entire skinning process in about two and a half hours.
Essentially, Bangle says it gives the customers of tomorrow an opportunity to individualise cars the way they want to. And Bangle believes it is more production relevant now than when it was first conceived in 2001. So sometime in the future, you just might have to visit a tailor instead of a mechanic to fix that bonnet zip!
