As part of a large-scale expansion of Project i, BMW will launch the stunning i8 Roadster in 2018, BMW Chairman Harald Kruger said at the automaker's annual accounts press conference. Kruger also confirmed that the automaker will come out with an updated version of the BMW i3, which will not only have 50 percent more battery capacity, but also a refreshed design. It looks like recent concepts like the Vision Next 100 are leading the way forward for BMW as the automaker plans to become a leader in automotive technology.

In addition to these two cars, BMW also plans to release a fully autonomous electric car on the road within the next 10 years called the iNext. "BMW iNext heralds the next era of mobility," stated Kruger. "This symbol of our technology leadership will demonstrate how we will bring the future of mobility into series production." BMW calls its autonomous driving research Project i 2.0. The new undertaking should lead to improvements in driverless technology for the iNext. Thanks to this new research, the automaker plans to focus on high-definition digital maps, cloud technology, sensor technology and artificial intelligence. While the iNext doesn't really get our blood running, the idea of an i8 Roadster sure does.