Already thousands of comments have been posted to social media following the BMW Instagram video. “No no no no no, plz no” is one. “Hope that grille is part of the camouflage” and “poor M3, with a horrendous grille” are others.
It’s all grist to the mill, however; BMW styling controversies have a habit of turning out well in the end, the vehemence of the comments a sign of how much enthusiasts care for the brand. And in any case BMW is giving us plenty of time to get used to it: the M3 Touring – the brand’s first high performance 3 Series estate in 34 years – is still two years away from the showrooms.
Bavaria’s rival for the Audi RS4 and Mercedes-AMG C63 will form part of the new sixth-generation M3/M4 family to be unveiled this coming September. Coupe and saloon are first up, then the M4 convertible next year and following that will be the first M3 five-door. Will they all get the new look? BMW is keeping us guessing on that.
BMW’s desire to separate models and inject more character into some of its offerings by a different shaped grille is understandable, however, especially at a time when premium-make grilles are tending towards the huge and generic, at the expense of brand distinctiveness. BMW’s kidney grilles used to be tall and skinny and it is classic models such as the 328, 503 and CS coupes that the firm references with the new design.
If you haven’t seen the sinister BMW M4 GT3, you really should have a look…