BMW GINA Light Visionary Model, Matte Red

On the GINA, a door is not a panel but a fold. The largest piece of fabric runs from the nose to the base of the windscreen and back along each side to the rear edge of the door, so when a door swings upwards and outwards the skin gathers into creases along the flank, and when it closes they smooth away again. At the rear, a spoiler that cannot be seen at rest lifts automatically once the car reaches a set speed, raising the fabric to add downforce over the rear axle. Both ideas follow one rule of the GINA principle: a function appears only when it is needed, and the body changes shape to provide it.

Here the GINA wears matte red, a soft satin finish that takes the shine off the paint and lets the shape speak: the shadows in the flanks, the long sweep of the shoulder and the tension over the rear haunches all read more clearly without reflections. The cabin is white and light grey, with a white-rimmed steering wheel and round dials in the centre console. Split-spoke wheels with BMW centre caps, slim open headlamps and a carbon-weave diffuser with paired tailpipes are crisply finished. The plaque on its stitched grey base marks it as one of 7. Built at 1:18.