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HomeCar CultureCommentaryWhat do you think of BMW’s new grille?

What do you think of BMW’s new grille?

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At the recent Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany, BMW unveiled the Concept 4, a “future-focused interpretation of the BMW Group’s enduring DNA,” the automaker said. 

Among the most obvious design changes was what BMW said was the “vertically oriented kidney grille,” which it presented as a “reference” to vehicles such as the historic 328 or 3.0 CSi, the automaker added.

Concept 4 grille shown recently in Frankfurt

“The kidney grille’s grating contains horizontal trim elements with a faceted cut which create a neat contrast against the sporty design of the front end…” BMW said at the time.

Fast forward to this week when the company unveiled the 202o BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe with a twin-kidney grille that even it describes as “a large connecting design element of the front of the new car.”

Which leads us to this question for the classic car community and especially for fans, and collectors, of the brand: Do you like what BMW has done with its historic twin-kidney grille? 

Please share your reactions in the Comments section below.

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Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

26 COMMENTS

    • The history of BMW was that of a typical competitive automaker that always had wins and losses. In the last two decades the BMW grill has become outdated like the Lamborghini body styles. Its the 1990’s show with them. I think its time to move forward. I would like to see some flare in the styling. However, the mechanical and electrical still are poor. They need standard awd, standard r wheel steer, and standard sport shift with all automatics.

  1. The new Concept 4 kidney grill is bold, aggressive looking and a radical change for BMW. I like the look. I’ll stop by my dealer soon to check it out.

  2. The grill of the BMW has always been outdated sunce the 1990’s. Its about time they update it a little. I understand the Tradition in it as a "trademark" much like the Aston Martin or JEEP, but its time to progress forward.

        • The grill is sheer blasphemy- i saw the picture and ran to my garage to gaze upon my very first bmw- 1972 2002tii. That i have owned for 47 years- it’s grill need no improvement nor would a 503 or 507- the proposed grill is a concession to the japanese makes- i have driven 3’s 4’sand 5’s all with the distinctive bmw griil- I will not buy any bmw with such a monstrous nose

  3. The grille looks nice on the car pictured.
    BMW is conservative in making changes. So far, I like the subtle changes made on all series including the new grille.

  4. Ack. Threw up into my mouth a little. Now BMW is joining Toyota/Lexus in the "look at ME!", every surface "styled!" by teenaged anime meth addicts. Toyota makes great, reliable cars, and Lexus can compete with the best in driving dynamics, features, and luxury… but I will never own a car I can’t stand to look at- I’m one of those guys that likes a car I feel compelled to look back upon as I walk away from parking. Did I want a sci-fi freak show, well, any Lexus F would fit my budget and garage, as would any number of ‘yodas, Hondas, Acuras, Nissan/Infinitys, Kia/Hyundais, Ford/Chevy/Chrysler products. I’ll give Subaru a pass, as their WRX STi can cover any and all the checks the insane looks write; as did the much lamented Mitsubishi Evo. Overachiever cars on a budget, with functional- FUNCTIONAL- vents, grilles, wings, well, s’ok, they earned it… another good example is the Viper. Yeah, a bit over the top to look at, but I drove a friend’s late issue ACR. I’ve never been the same. Hated the sound, but when a car does so much so well, can pin you in the seat with an 80mph downshift/throttle whack that breaks the steamroller rears loose in a haze of smoke, has a decent stereo… and draws attention like a five alarm fire in Buckingham Palace even though painted white and parked in the shade, lil kids just loved the ginormous wing, btw, I give it a break as well.
    But your Prius, base BMW, Malibu, and on and on are NOT special. Not aggro race iron, and sorry, they ain’t gonna transform into a giant friendly robot.
    New BMW grille? They’re late glomming onto a trend that best would have died the very day Lexus unveiled the Predator inspired "spindle" grille. What, you gotta have RR/Bentley/S-Benz money to have a modern luxury car that has dignity? Moving on doesn’t necessarily mean moving downscale, eh?
    What a world in which we live.

  5. Horrible. Looks like a Kia front grill. Seems like they just changed it just to change it doesn’t matter to me I’m not buying one anyway. And it just so ugly and Commercial looking

  6. I’ve driven a BMW 5 series for more than 23 years. This year, I’m seriously considering the 2021 4-Series Coupe. I like its interior, exterior and performance, but just can’t get over the oversized, ridiculous looking grill. I’m wondering if BMW realized that they F’d up and will offer a replacement because this grill is so horrible!

  7. I drive a 1968 1602. That being said, all BMW’s are judged bit that. The recent styling of these cars and the grills lack elegance/ style. They are badly placed and it of proportion. Contemporary production vehicles can’t seem to make all fit together.My car,everything relates/ fits, visually/ functionally. This is trash design!

  8. Big no. It no longer has that distinguished BMW look. German turned Japanese. Sad to take away from a well known symbol of a manufacture, to look like all others. Glad I recently purchased mine with the former grill style. As they say…”if it isnt broke, dont try to fix it”.

  9. As a BMW owner I really don’t like the new grill. Looks like any other car now not a BMW. Might as well compare it to a KIA now.

  10. The new grill makes the BMW look like a totally different car! I don’t like it at all. It’s just too huge and ugly! It really takes away from the BMW look. Had it not been so huge, it would have looked really nice. Hope they reduce the grill size with the next model.

  11. So disappointed. Since I bought my first one in the 1980s, I have only driven BMWs. I love the happy elegance of them, their toughness and low maintenance, and their quickness. I felt like I was driving a piece of art. That, sadly, has been changing. BMW has been following the design trends of other, lesser, car makers for some time. But this grill — this ghastly, behemoth grill — this perversion of the perfect grill. It’s so much like some of the competing car companies’ very ugly current models … So disappointed

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