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2021 BMW 4 Series Official Sketches Explain Divisive Design Choice

People outside the automotive industry - and even most of those working for a car manufacturer, we'd imagine - don't know the entire process that goes behind the release of a new model.
2021 BMW 4 Series design sketch 3 photos
Photo: BMW
2021 BMW 4 Series design sketch2021 BMW 4 Series design sketch
We don't, either. We think we have an idea, but that's probably just about one percent of everything that actually goes on behind those closed doors. What we do know is that, as far as design is concerned, it all starts with a sketch.

Designers are asked to submit their proposals for the new model, and then the top brass makes a decision. The initial sketch is then refined to oblivion once all the engineers join the party and things become less artsy and more practical, adding more constraints than the already existing ones like brand and model identity.

Talking to actual designers - who, as it happened, worked for BMW - I got a vaguely hidden hint of frustration. These people have very little room to express their creativity when coming up with new models, feeling reduced to nothing more than a human printing machine that draws whatever the engineers and their bosses tell them.

I would imagine that models such as the 2021 BMW 4 Series are why these designers stick around and don't forward their resignation one year into the job. That and the paycheck. And probably the prestige that comes with working for one of the top car brands in the world.

During that initial stage of submitting proposals, one member of the team decided to do something slightly different. He took a risk, and the top brass liked it. Or, more likely, the design team was instructed to come up with something a little more daring and with this being the least adventurous option, it was the one the head officials went for.

We'll never know for sure, but what we do know just by looking at these sketches is that the 4 Series really did look amazing on paper. Not saying it's a tomato in the flesh, but you can see why anyone looking at this art would think it's a great idea to build this car.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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