BMW Concept 4 is a Toothy Tease of Next Bavarian Coupe

[MatskiMonk]

I still don't like the bangle butt.

Fair enough.

Personally it was never the 'Bangle Butt' that bothered me about the designs from that era. To this day I still find the silver 'stache on the pre-LCI E90/91 3 series and E6x 6 series one of the most objectionable styling decisions from BMW in the last few decades.

I'll admit, when the BMW Z9 concept showed up, I bought a copy of Auto Express with it on the cover, at about the same time there was an issue of Autocar with the Mercedes Vision SLR on the cover, and I do remember thinking that Mercedes were going to murder BMW in the styling department, though the cars ended up being two very different things.

 

[Wolfe]

And now we have gotten fully back to threads like this, where people are panning the cars as hideous... it's just like the Bangle days. You'd have thought people would have been more open minded, but it seems not.

My post history here is evidence to the contrary in my case:

I actually like pretty much all of the new BMW designs...

When it comes to the modern BMWs, I like all of them except for the X-series and the pre-facelift 7-series...

I can say with consistency that this oversized kidney grille crap is a garish corruption, not like the Bangle/Hooydonk cars nor the kidneys' previous evolution from their taller shape. This is just another concept car (so far), but the X7 is no better.

 

[Nacho Libre]

It looks like a mishmash of styling cues and lines from other manufacturers (a bit of Mazda here, bit of Kia there, etc.) without a single BMW identifiable motif. Disastrous.

 

[MatskiMonk]

My post history here is evidence to the contrary in my case:


I can say with consistency that this oversized kidney grille crap is a garish corruption, not like the Bangle/Hooydonk cars nor the kidneys' previous evolution from their taller shape. This is just another concept car (so far), but the X7 is no better.

It's unfortunate that you see it this way and are unlikely to change your mind. I like the X7 personally, and the currrent Big-grille-LCI Alpina B7 is probably in my personal top 3 best looking 7-ers to date, and I actually prefer the tall grille (in principle) to the variations of the upside down grille we've seen on the X2, X6 and 8-er. But, in any case, I don't mind this evolution of the kidney grille, we'll see how it's executed as a production vehicle...

These comparisons were made by a user on bimmerpost...

 

[WheelmanSteve]

That grill... Body and proportions are sweet, but the grill makes it look like a Peterbilt.

 

[TexRex]

 

[Stoop Solo]

BMW, we need to talk about that grille. It looks like a sports coupe hit a fireplace from a victorian insane assylum.

 

[HuskyGT]

I thought it was a Maserati. And that is not a compliment. I don't know what's going on with BMW, but I remember a time when BMW was so unmistakable to the point where even non-car people could recognize them at a distance. Now they look too... Asian. I can put a Kia, a Toyota and a Honda next to a BMW and they look as if they were designed by the same person.

And let's not get started with the new BMW grill trend... It is so tacky. It's not aggressive, nor elegant or sporty at all. I can't help but to think of this when I see it:

 

[Doubledealer]

I like the grill. It was the first time I could not immediately guess it as a bmw car.

 

[daan]

I like the grill. It was the first time I could not immediately guess it as a bmw car.

It has the biggest double kidney grill ever, and you didn't know it was a BMW?

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Now they look too... Asian. I can put a Kia, a Toyota and a Honda next to a BMW and they look as if they were designed by the same person.

They are going after the growing Asian market.

 

[Doubledealer]

It has the biggest double kidney grill ever, and you didn't know it was a BMW?

yeah, I guess precisely because it was such a huge grill, gave it a distinct look from previous generations.