LONDON (REUTERS) - The roaring engines and burning rubber of The Fast And The Furious films - one of cinema's highest-grossing franchises - are skidding off the screen and into the real world, as a live stunt show based on the movies opens in London on Thursday (Jan 25).

Fast & Furious Live, held in London's O2 arena, aims to recreate the elaborate stunts for which the films are known.

The show features around 40 vehicles, including tanks, trucks, a submarine and dozens of fire-spitting, customised muscle cars.

It uses 3D projection technology to help give the illusion that car chases are taking place over distances much greater than the inside of an arena.

The Fast And The Furious, about a gang of illegal street racers, has spawned eight films since 2001, with two more in development, a forthcoming spin-off film, video games and theme park rides.

The franchise survived the death of one of its main stars, Paul Walker, who was killed in a car crash in 2013.