BMW carbon fibre car launch

Next week, at the Frankfurt motor show, BMW will be showing two futuristic vehicles that will reflect much of what the movement stood for.
The BMW i3 and the BMW i8 are both contemporary concepts of what the German carmaker envisions the future will require. Both will go into production in 2013.

The i3 is a small, electric city car that seats four, designed for tomorrow's burgeoning mega-cities.
The i8 is a fast, aggressive supercar, powered by a petrol-electric hybrid engine and set to appear in Tom Cruise's next violent Mission Impossible film.

The cars, which were first revealed at a media preview event during the summer, are very different in many ways.
But what makes them interesting is what they have in common - namely their shared technological characteristics.