So much has been said about the great BMW net that it feels like beating a dead horse to death. But the horse rose again, flashing its huge nostrils.
Only car manufacturer BMW Concept XM . revealed, above, the first exclusive M Division product preview since M1. The flagship SUV is notable for its 740 hp. And its infinite number of polygons. And the big grille honks its horn, the grille to swallow all the grilles. And maybe smoke a cat or a person or two walking.
As if the size – made even larger by the small headlights – wasn’t enough to see you in the face, the perimeter of the XM grille lights up. Serious. Do lights circle in opposite directions or change color? At least during the holidays? BMW design department, use that idea.
(BMW is rumored to be showing off a car at CES in January with body panels that can change color at the touch of a button, so anything is possible.)
I’m kid, though. XM is a concept, and concepts are a showcase for wild ideas. But it follows some production models like the 2022 M3 and M4. (The office joke when the 4 Series was revealed: What does the BMW stand for? Beaverean Motor Works.) Commentators and critics have mostly assumed efficiency, despite the view some of us have. developed. We can all agree that the approach is bold, that is the goal. BMW designers have design protection, many times, as not for everyone, and meant to leave no one indifferent. Complete mission.
Like this design direction, or not. What’s interesting is where it fits into the brand history. BMW website provide context. The kidney grille dates back to 1933 on the BMW 303, and some of the cars you might call the original 3 Series have worn it very well:
BMW 315/1 roadster, left and 1937 329 Cabriolet. (By Stephen Foskett and Martin V.)
But by the 1950s, the smaller grille pattern – “narrower and therefore more elegant” – on models such as the 503 and 507 from 1956 was the first to make the kidneys horizontal and use them in a shark’s nose. Kidneys were still smaller in the 1960s on models like the 2002 or 3.0 CS/CSi, and just Chiclets on the M1 in 1978 and the 8 Series in the 1990s. This brings us to the present of cars with The grille is as large as the 4 Series and futuristic as heralded by the concept. It’s fair to note that big isn’t always bad: The X7’s grille is big, but it’s a big car.
The big grille trend happened when the demand for grilles was about to diminish, or even disappear altogether.
I’m not a car designer. My experience is limited to publication design. But in that world, there is a classical text, “Edit by design” by Jan White, emphasizing that design is not decorative – “more than just an ornament.” Design choices must serve a practical function. Don’t we all love tools that are designed to feel good in the hand and function well, or elegant buildings that fit harmoniously into their spaces?
The grille on the BMW 303 is as big as it should be. That’s the only way the engine has air. Over the ensuing decades of design, engine cooling requirements and sources changed, making this type of grille unnecessary. Now definitely, and mostly, an aesthetic choice for brand identity. BMW is not alone there.
Of course, cars like the M1 don’t need a big grille for that. Its small grille whispers menacingly: “I’m the worst BMW ever.”
Rule #1 of business is this: Ignore sunk costs. Just because you’ve had kidneys for 90 years, who says you’ll need them for the next 90 years? At least give up relying too much on an antiquatedism. If the big grilles are controversial on a burning car, they’ll look even sadder than on an EV. Function over form.
Having said that, the grille looks pretty bad on the Vision M NEXT, below left. But not so much on the iX that is true. BMW said The iX grille is a “fully closed” surface that acts as a “smart panel” for the sensors. But like the 4 Series, it’s so big it’s split in half by the number plate. And there’s obviously no sensor behind the license plate, so it’s bigger than it needs to be for the electronics. It’s big for great sake.
On the i3, BMW kept a small inactive grille border. Many EVs now use a border, enclosing a body color palette. And maybe our brains need that – a design cue that matches our preconceptions about what a car should look like. Some technologies have buzz; people who have never used a rotary phone still say that they are dialing a number.
The alternative is nothing. The front end of the first-generation Nissan Leaf says, “I’m like a frog: green and cute.” But the Tesla Model 3’s naked front end is a special piece of plastic that seems unfinished. It may be one of the only cars to have an improved appearance thanks to the front number plate.
Perhaps there needs to be something up front to hide the driver assistance sensors. On the other hand, BMW should consider these big-nosed gasoline burners the swan song for the internal combustion engine. Charting a new route in the electric vehicle era, maybe with a new look that even kills the kidneys. But let’s keep the rondel intact – that’s still great.
Differences between old design aspects on future cars are not just a BMW problem. Buick recently unveiled some space concepts: a cool minivan and a mobile with a shell that looks like they’ve just taken a caravan of time travelers from the 22nd century. this car wears the Buick family “three shields” badge from Ye Olden Days, excavated by a Buick designer in the 1930s. It looks like a relic on Buicks today, much less of tomorrow. Imagine you are the designer for that project: You have created two beautiful concepts, beliefs about the future of transportation. Then your boss walks by and says, “Hey, where are the three shields?” Who knows, maybe in the future, jousting might return.
However, Buick also sets an example for letting go. A few years ago it broke with tradition and got rid of “VentiPorts”, aka windows. The sky does not fall.
Letting go of things that have no purpose is okay. Marie Kondo designs your car.
If these big grids help BMW sell the last generation of ICE cars, great. Then continue. Define your brand in this century, not the last.
