BMW goes front-wheel drive for the 2-series Active Tourer

BMW's long-held reputation for producing only rear- and four-wheel drive vehicles comes to an end with the the new 2-series Active Tourer, its first-ever front-wheel-drive production model. The cornerstone of BMW's Geneva show stand next month, the 2-series Active Tourer marks a significant turning point for the German automaker, adopting a transverse-mounted engine and standard FWD. It arrives here in early 2015.

Driven: BMW i8

When BMW unveiled the Vision EfficientDynamics concept at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, we wrote: "for our money, it's the first time a major carmaker has really attempted to communicate ‘green' technology in an aesthetic sense." Fast-forward five years and we've swapped the show halls of the IAA for a beauty spot on the north-west coast of Scotland. And, while the car's name has changed to i8, our sentiment towards this genre- and era-defining car remains. Admittedly the production car's design execution hasn't received the universal praise of its concept forebears, but, on a remote outpost of the British Isles, a Protonic Blue i8 couldn't look more exotic.

Show Preview: Frankfurt motor show 2011

The biannual Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung, or the Frankfurt motor show, is again due to take place this September, swapping places with its sister show in Paris. One of the world's largest motor shows – certainly physically – the IAA is held at Frankfurt's Messe complex, and in recent years has been themed, with the last event in 2009 carrying the theme of ‘electrification', with virtually every manufacturer revealing a vehicle using the latest battery technology. Fittingly, the most notable unveil at that show was the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept, which was easily the most innovative and original car of 2009.