Gina ..

[Sound_Man]

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/S...BMW_165581.htm

I think this is really cool

[Dagimp]

Interesting.. but I keep thinking that fabric would act like a tarp on a truck bed going freeway speeds.

[CherryokeeXJ]

Hmmm........I don't know how I feel about cars that have skin....and blink.

[Jake_Blues]

Or a hood that opens up like a Va-jay-jay.

-E

[Colo.TJ]

Originally Posted by Jake_Blues

Or a hood that opens up like a Va-jay-jay.

-E

That's why it's called G eye na not G eee na.

[ni0h]

I can't get to the end of the video - they quit streaming, but if they're going to do the things I'm thinking of, it could really work. Picture the nose stretching forward and down at high speed, pulling in short and high for slow maneuvering in city streets.

Even better, how about feedback between the drivetrain and the body? Just as now the engine leans itself out until it gets the right signal from the O2 sensor, the body could adjust certain aspects of its shape with reference to fuel consumption, so that running with a 50mph tailwind going 40, the rear deck could rise up to catch more wind, while going the opposite direction, it would configure itself like it would for 90mph. If the radiator intake is adjustable, it could minimize parasitic losses there by having that opening only as big as it needs to be to keep the engine cool.
When the top comes down, perhaps there would be places on the hood where a bulge would redirect the air around the passenger compartment for less turbulence, which could then go away when the top's up.

I've long considered making an adjustable front spoiler for my TJ - an aluminum plate on scissor arms which I can cause to extend in front of the bumper, and then adjust the angle to slice off a small bow wave that just clears the grille or possibly the top of the windshield. Just like my "highway tail" idea, it would be pretty pointless except for highway trips. I just can't see any significant effect below 60mph for the segmented fairing idea, though the highway tail should be effective down to about 40... but who wants to drive a TJ with an 8-foot long tent hanging off the back?

[Mack]

I'd be pumped about a car that could pop a chub with it's trunk when a hottie drives by.

[ni0h]

Oh, and DaGimp: I'm sure that flapping effect is a big part of design consideration - extra mass sewn to places in the fabric, elastic internal tethers... probably some body panels made rigid.

[Pilot]

They'll probably test it on Mount Evans and the first wind gust will change their minds.

[ni0h]

My softtop stays well-behaved well past 90. It's not the whole body, but even Jeep-style design, with no effort towards quiet or comfort makes a perfectly serviceable fabric skin.

[Mark]

Your softtop is designed with a single, semi-rigid shape in mind. Once that shape is established, proper supports are constructed for it to withstand reasonable operating forces while in that shape. Those supports are not designed to move while in normal operation.

The 'gina car is designed with multiple, flexible shapes. How that can work at any speed >35mph or so, is beyond me. If the skin is flexible enough to distort when a force is applied to it from the inside of the car, what says it will be able to resist aerodynamic forces while travelling down the road?

The answer: nothing. You end up with a car whose front end looks like an inny belly button as you merge onto the interstate. Have fun with that.

[ni0h]

Originally Posted by OlBlueCJ7

Your softtop is designed with a single, semi-rigid shape in mind. Once that shape is established, proper supports are constructed for it to withstand reasonable operating forces while in that shape. Those supports are not designed to move while in normal operation.

The 'gina car is designed with multiple, flexible shapes. How that can work at any speed >35mph or so, is beyond me. If the skin is flexible enough to distort when a force is applied to it from the inside of the car, what says it will be able to resist aerodynamic forces while travelling down the road?

The answer: nothing. You end up with a car whose front end looks like an inny belly button as you merge onto the interstate. Have fun with that.

Actually, I figure with BMW's high expense, they can afford lots of tension adjusters - mini winches pulling in on places on the skin which tend to fly up, and developing programming that prevents certain configurations under certain conditions, or detects the onset of flutter and adjusts it out.

[Gizmo42]

Its an interesting idea, until some little a-hole in the neighborhood decides to come around with a knife and slice up the body every night.

[Gunner]

Saw that about a year ago in some magazine and it blew my mind. Very cool, they could do so many awesome things with that its almost mind-boggling.

[CherryokeeXJ]

Originally Posted by ni0h

Actually, I figure with BMW's high expense, they can afford lots of tension adjusters - mini winches pulling in on places on the skin which tend to fly up, and developing programming that prevents certain configurations under certain conditions, or detects the onset of flutter and adjusts it out.

The more complicated it is, the more there is to break and go wrong.

[starbreaker666]

I really like that... the onboard ability to adjust drag and aero would be amazing in race applications. I approve.