As part of the master marketing plan BMW has begun the next stage of Project i marketing with it’s new site and documentary series Activate the Future. Today we have the trailer for the series. It’s all about questions like, where are the flying cars? Where are the spaceships? It’s the sort of thing I asked myself after driving a Tesla. But that kind of reaction to a Tesla and what BMW is saying here is no coincidence. They’re getting the world ready for something new. They’re getting the world ready for BMW’s biggest bet yet, the carbon, aluminum iSetta electric city car. And that last line, “they better make fun.” Remember that.

So what does it mean for MINI? This will be an extremely lightweight car with a carbon monocoque on an aluminum frame (yes body on frame is back!). That all adds up to a base price of at least $40k. Yes this will be a premium small electric vehicle and not something that works well within the MINI brand. Therefore the first generation of city cars will be marketed under the iSetta brand under the BMW brand (with the name MINI no where in sight). But that will likely change as costs are driven downwards during the second generation of cars.