Wheels-Near-U blog

Last week the local Norfolk press reported on a piece of art unlike no other seen before. Parked up in a meadow and used for living in this trailer had lived a far from conventional last few years.  Originally brought for £1000 by Nathan Wellard and Maeve Neal this artic box was until recently used as a family home, however it is now in the process of being auctioned off as a piece of world famous Banksy Graffiti artwork.

The illusive Banksy has managed to keep his identity largely unknown to the masses, leaving his contriversial artworks adorned in difficult to believe places, mostly walls, worldwide. Famed as an underground artist, Banksy originally asked Nathan and Maeve for permission to use their arctic trailer as a canvas back in the 1990’s where he painted the huge murial down the sides at the Glastonbury festival, since then whenever Nathan and Maeve have seen Banksy he has added, tweaked and furthered the graffiti, a sign of an ever concious artist.

Now encased in plastic, headed for an auction the artwork is set to be seen by thousands more eyes, all depending on who snaps it up on the 28th of June we may be seeing these fantastic works in a gallery soon. We can’t think of anything better than talented artists using transport as a canvas and wish Nathan and Maeve the best of luck with their sale!

More information on the Banksy Auction

Banksy Site

With concept cars there is quite often a sense of originality, wild design and contemporary ideas. But spend a few years watching the concept cars released by various car manufacturers worldwide and you will realise that the real head turners, the ideas that heavily change everything we know about cars today don’t come around so often.

The BMW Gina, released this week is a car which more than fits these alternative shoes. The BMW Gina is a good example of a new idea, G i n a is supposed to stand for “Geometry and Functions in ‘N’ Adaptations”, however like the abbreviation avoids the inclusion of the F from “Functions” so does the concept sports car avoid the need for a shell. Using a textile fabric BMW have created the first concept car that seems to mimic the human form.

The first thing you will notice when you look at the Gina Concept is its styling. Look at a standard 1 shot photo and you may be forgiven for thinking its just another devilish car from BMW, but the lines and curves of this concepts bodywork are not created with steel or aluminium. Taught textile fabric acts as a skin like barrier, tightened around a space frame made from a mixture of carbon and metals.

Although it sounds basic BMW have taken this concept one step further than simply wrapping an aerial atom with lycra, as well as a car with skin they also gave it movable features. The lights open and shut like a wild cats, the “bonnet” can open at the middle seam showing just a hint of a large BMW engine and an artificial rib cage, the doors - not to be outdone - don’t open but twist and contort to allow entry into the bespoke all in one seats. The skin is the one big factor in this concepts creation, it allows new and interesting mixtures of both concave and convex body panels, made with a material that looks very much like traditional steel panels. In true BMW style it continues along the progressively angular design, with a stunning moveable flared spoiler to cap off a stunning rear end.

All in all the BMW Gina is a fantastic concept car, recently housed in the BMW museum it will go on show and perhaps influence BMW cars to come. We can’t wait to get our hands on a real production equivalent, but that might take BMW some time.

You can see more of the BMW Gina Concept car in our concept car gallery!