BMW GINA Light Visionary Model, Matte Silver

The GINA's skin is the whole idea. BMW chose a polyurethane-coated Lycra (elastic, water-repellent, resistant to heat and cold, and able to be stretched and moved without slackening) and pulled it over a frame of aluminium wire, reinforced with carbon-fibre struts wherever the shape had to flex. Finished in silver on the full-size car, it looked less like bodywork than a garment cut to fit, the light catching the tension in the cloth rather than the reflections of paint. Development began in 2001, and BMW kept the car out of public view until June 2008.

This piece comes closest in spirit to that skin: a matte silver with no gloss at all, so the surfaces read soft and tensioned, paired with a pale blush pink-beige interior and a matching steering-wheel rim. It also belongs to a different edition from the coloured cars in the series, carrying a brushed-silver plaque numbered out of 120 rather than a black plate numbered out of seven. The slim headlamps, kidney grilles, split-spoke wheels and paired tailpipes are finely done, and the car sits on a stitched dark grey base. Built at 1:18.