G22 is how BMW calls the second generation of the 4 Series, a line that was spun off from the 3 Series with two or four doors and even a convertible option. Though it’s a good car on paper, just look at it! Can someone explain why the Bavarian automaker decided on such a ludicrous kidney grille?
Design chief Domagoj Dukec defends the abomination in rather bland terms, but more importantly, he told Autocar that your opinion doesn’t count. “In this business, you can’t listen to social media reactions. It won’t help you,” he told the British motoring publication. Rather cheeky of him, alright!
At the end of the day, you heard the man. Unless the 4 Series G22 proves to be a commercial flop because of its humongous grille, BMW will continue churning out this kind of unsightly automobiles moving forward.
This is where our old friend Kleber Silva enters the scene. The Brazilian artist has reimagined the current crop of Bimmers with G22 kidney grilles, ranging from the front-wheel-drive 1 Series to the range-topping 8 Series.
The worst application appears to be the more practical and affordable sibling of the 4 Series, which looks utterly ridiculous in this specification. However, the truth is that these cars grab attention in a rather unpleasant way.
Remember when BMW made elegant and sporty coupes and sedans? Remember the bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful E9 3.0 CSi and the first generation of the M5, based on the 5 Series E28? Unfortunately, subtle performance doesn’t sell in this day and age. Heck, BMW is a very different automaker too.
When the Bavarians rolled out the Life Cycle Impulse redesigns of the 5 Series and 6 Series Gran Turismo, it was made clear that electrification is the way forward. And with it, the quad-turbo diesel inline-six and the twin-turbo V12 will be phased out for more eco-friendly, electro-assisted powerplant options.
The “G22 Snout” as I’ll refer to it from here on in will also be present on the production version of the i4. Considering that neither the 4 Series or i4 need the cooling capacity of such a large grille, you can rest assured that Bayerische Motoren Werke will do what it wants from a design standpoint.
Design chief Domagoj Dukec defends the abomination in rather bland terms, but more importantly, he told Autocar that your opinion doesn’t count. “In this business, you can’t listen to social media reactions. It won’t help you,” he told the British motoring publication. Rather cheeky of him, alright!
At the end of the day, you heard the man. Unless the 4 Series G22 proves to be a commercial flop because of its humongous grille, BMW will continue churning out this kind of unsightly automobiles moving forward.
This is where our old friend Kleber Silva enters the scene. The Brazilian artist has reimagined the current crop of Bimmers with G22 kidney grilles, ranging from the front-wheel-drive 1 Series to the range-topping 8 Series.
The worst application appears to be the more practical and affordable sibling of the 4 Series, which looks utterly ridiculous in this specification. However, the truth is that these cars grab attention in a rather unpleasant way.
Remember when BMW made elegant and sporty coupes and sedans? Remember the bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful E9 3.0 CSi and the first generation of the M5, based on the 5 Series E28? Unfortunately, subtle performance doesn’t sell in this day and age. Heck, BMW is a very different automaker too.
When the Bavarians rolled out the Life Cycle Impulse redesigns of the 5 Series and 6 Series Gran Turismo, it was made clear that electrification is the way forward. And with it, the quad-turbo diesel inline-six and the twin-turbo V12 will be phased out for more eco-friendly, electro-assisted powerplant options.
The “G22 Snout” as I’ll refer to it from here on in will also be present on the production version of the i4. Considering that neither the 4 Series or i4 need the cooling capacity of such a large grille, you can rest assured that Bayerische Motoren Werke will do what it wants from a design standpoint.