What Were They Thinking?: Recent BMW Frontal Designs

Once upon a time, a BMW was "The Ultimate Driving Machine."  The company's product line was fairly understandable: 3-series, 5-series and 7-series models.  Happy days for the München knaben.

Nowadays, the moderate-sized carmaker spews a much larger set of models while letting the Driving Machine marketing concept wither.

Worse, from a styling perspective, BMW designs have become unattractive, especially where front end appearance is concerned.  I realize that there are car buyers who value other aspects of a vehicle more than its styling.  I fall into that category regarding my 2019 Toyota RAV4.  But that RAV's design isn't all that awful, so I could ignore it.  But BMWs launched since around the year 2020 are mostly so ugly up front that I would shun them if I were shopping for a new car.

As can be seen in the Gallery below, many recent BMW grilles (and faux-grilles on electric models) are large and heavy-looking -- adding unnecessary (in my judgment) visual weight up front.  Additionally, some internal grille "bar" designs are strange.

I wonder what BMW marketers, product planners, stylists and management were thinking when this new design direction was launch and continued.

All that said, let's take a look.

Unless noted, images below are BMW publicity photos.

Gallery

2027 BMW i7
This new design has what I consider an unnecessarily heavy looking front end.  And it doesn't relate well to the rest of the car.

Same car, frontal view.  Below are frontal views of other BMWs.

1958 BMW 503 Coupe - unidentified original photo source
This has the 2-nostril grille shape of 1950s BMWs, a strong brand identification feature.  Two-segment designs are continued up to the present.

1962 BMW 1500 Sedan
The firm's sales breakthrough model.  Again, simple front end styling.

2013 BMW 328i Cabriolet - BaT Auctions photo
My wife owns one of these.  Very attractive variation of the basic theme.

2021 BMW 4-series - unidentified original photo source
Now we're into the 2020 decade.  Massive BMW grilles began to appear a few years earlier on some models.

2013 BMW 8-series coupe
Compare to the front of the 2013 328i pictured above.  This is very bold, and pretty ugly.

2024 BMW iX2
Similar "grille" shape,  but different context and detailing.

2024 BMW X6 M60i
A functional grille of the same ilk.

2025 BMW X3
Every time I see one of these front ends I curse whoever approved that "bar" pattern for production.  Those diagonals mated to verticals in essentially equal proportions are a senseless design for an automobile.

2026 BMW iX
A recent electric car.  As usual, a too-huge "grille," but the diagonal "bars" are acceptable when used exclusively.

2026 BMW iX3
An electric SUV.  This design harkens to the early nostrils shown here, and might be useful on coupes.  Not as heavy as the other recent designs.  That more recent 2027 i7 frontal design at the top of the Gallery aside, I hope BMW styling begins to follow this concept.

Carrozzeria Touring's BMW and Alfa Romeo "Aerodynamic" Designs

If one casually thinks of Italian carrozzieri, it's likely that custom-built car bodies come to mind.  But since World War 2 (and perhaps earlier -- I need to research this) some of the major coachbuilders had assembly lines, cranking out bodies of their design for carmakers.  Call it a kind of rationalization/conservation of design effort.

Even in the late 1930s, some more purely custom designs had shared features -- again an economy move of sorts.

Today's post deals with the case of three racing car designs by Carrozzeria Touring (Wikipedia entry here).  These are the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Speciale Tipo Le Mans Berlinetta (link here), the 1939 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Berlinetta (link here) and the 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Berlinetta Aerodinamica (link here).  The version of the latter shown below having a body recreated with the help of Touring's Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni, son of the firm's founder.

All three designs made use of Touring's Superleggera  (super-light) construction method involving a sort of space frame to which sheet metal cladding was attached.  The result was a surprisingly strong body that was noticeably lighter than a conventionally built body.  This was attractive to racing car engineers as a means of transforming engine horsepower into speed: the less weigh to push around, the better.

Gallery

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Speciale Tipo Le Mans Berlinetta - photo via Museo Alfa Romeo
This car and the others have "envelope" bodies where fenders and other features are blended into the basic shape.  This was for aerodynamic reasons.  An exception here is the headlights that would create unwanted air turbulence.  Because the Le Mans race is a 24-hour affair, perhaps it was thought that robust, correctly-positioned headlights were required during the hours of night time racing.

1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Berlinetta Aerodinamica - Broad Arrow Auctions photos
The following year, Touring came up with a more refined body style used here by Alfa Romeo and by BMW.  These cars have different wheelbases and front end designs, but are almost the same otherwise.

1939 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Berlinetta - images via carrozzieri-italiani.com
The BMW version.  Note front end differences.

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Speciale Tipo Le Mans Berlinetta - my 2019 photos at Museo Alfa Romeo
Being the first of its kind, styling seems awkward, though functional for a racing car.

1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Berlinetta Aerodinamica - image via carrozzieri-italiani.com
Much smoother shaping here.  The rear wheel opening could be covered.

Shorter wheelbase, so the shapes in the previous image are compressed.

The passenger compartment greenhouse is teardrop-shaped in plan view.  For some reason there is a backlight window that seems useless unless it provided a bit of visibility for the rear-view mirror positioned high in the interior.

The greenhouse has four windows instead of two, and the side profile is more tapered.  Otherwise, rear ends are similar in concept.

1939 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Berlinetta - my 2018 photo, BMW Museum in Munich
The rear here is more blended that that of the Alfa Romeo, again likely related to the shorter wheelbase and length.

1939/1940 BMW 328 Mille Miglia ‘Büegelfalte’ Fender Design

One aspect of the rapid evolution in automobile styling of the 1930s was shaping of fenders.  At the start of the decade, fenders typically were thin (in profile) and ogive-shaped, aft ends blending into running boards.  Then fender skirts appeared while fenders became more rounded in cross-section.  Profiles became teardrop-shaped.  Then some General Motors cars began featuring "suitcase" profiles.  Towards the end of the thirties aft ends of front fenders began creeping over front doors, while lurking in the background during the decade were "tank" bodies, where there weren't fenders at all -- wheel openings being cut into the body's sides.  These few cases mostly were racing cars.

By 1939 those creeping fenders finally touched forward edges of rear fenders in a few instances.  But not in "flow through" style as seen on American cars circa 1948-49.

Today's post features an attractive example: the rebodied 1937 BMW 328 Mille Miglia rennwagen -- racing roadster.  Some background is here:

"In autumn 1939, the car was dismantled at the BMW factory’s racing division in Milbertshofen before being extensively re-engineered and used as the basis for even more streamlined bodywork in preparation for the 1940 season and the Mille Miglia in particular.  To that end, BMW built both an aerodynamic coupé and this lightweight open roadster.

"Its design is credited to Wilhelm Kaiser, a very experienced member of BMW’s new design department, headed by chief stylist Wilhelm Meyerhuber.  A 1:10 scale model was tested in the wind tunnel of pioneering aerodynamicist Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wunibald Kamm, with a long, tapered tail that took advantage of the lowered engine and profile.

"The stunning bodywork was hand-formed by “Blasi” Huber in Ernst Loof’s racing department and made from a lightweight aluminium-magnesium alloy (Al MG 3-4) frequently used in high performance aircraft construction.  Aside from its low silhouette and flowing fenders, the prototype roadster’s fenders had a pronounced ridge along their tops. It resembled the crease in a pair of ironed trousers and gave the unique car the name it still carries today, Bügelfalte or “ironing crease.

"Its panels were formed over an armature of small diameter tubing, preceding the similar superleggera system patented by Carrozzeria Touring in Milan years later."

Note that Touring's Superleggera (super-light) construction was patented in 1936, according to this entry in Wikipedia.  That is why the BMW rennwagen coupe mentioned above, along with some Alfa Romeo racing coupes had bodywork by Touring.

Images of the 1939-1940 redesign are below, along with some photos providing an interesting twist to the story.

Gallery

1937/1940 BMW 328 Mille Miglia - RM Sotheby's Auctions photos
Very attractive.  Curvaceous, but not bloated, thanks to comparatively flat lower fender sides.  The two-segment BMW grille blends well.

Especially keep this image in mind because it shows the fender profiles.  Especially note the transition from front fender to rear.  The front fender and body seem to merge immediately in front of the rear fender.  There is a suggestion that the front fender has a small upwards curve at that point, but that might be an artifact of the curved door cutline.

Again, a very fine design with no obvious flaws.  Though the front and rear would be less pure if bumpers were added.

Overhead view highlighting those fender creases.

1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Cabriolet by Pinin Farina - Gooding Auctions photos
Mario Revelli, Conte di Beaumont has been credited with the design.  As best I can tell from limited Internet information, this design is slightly earlier than the BMW's.

Its fenders are almost identical with those on the BMW, allowance made for differing wheelbases.  There's even a slight flattening at the aft end of the front fender's curve.

The aft end is also similar to that of the BMW.  The main differences in the design are the grilles (less nice on the Alfa) and the cockpit zones.  The BMW was a racing car, the Alfa was a sports car, so seating and passenger requirements differed.

As mentioned, I am inclined to think that the Alfa Romeo was designed first, so its features were likely borrowed by the Germans.  And Revelli's long experience with aerodynamic design features makes the result consistent with his other work in the mid-late '30s.  That said, there remains the possibility of simultaneous invention due to the circumstances of the times, as in the apparent case of the Calculus by Isaac Newton  and Gottfried Leibniz.

1942 Buick 50 Super Convertible - Mecum Auctions photo
That kind of fender shape saw production on some of Buick's 1942 models, as shown here.

1949 Jaguar XK120 Roadster - unknown original photo source
A variation with a less-distinct rear fender is the classic XK120 Jaguar design.  Some other 1950-vintage sports cars had the fender concept discussed here.

First Bristol - the 400

Before the classic Bristol 401 design whose development I wrote about here, there was the 1946-1950 Bristol 400.

As the link explains, when World War 2 ended, the Bristol Aeroplane Company decided to add automobiles to its product portfolio.  To expedite the development program, Bristol bought the small, BMW-oriented English carmaker Frazer-Nash in 1946, also acquiring data on the prewar BMW 328 motor from Eisenach in a war reparations deal.  The result of this complexity was that Bristol used its version of the 328 sports/racing motor for its new car line.

The chassis of the new Bristol was derived from the frame of the BMW 326 sedan, though its body was a coupé more in line with the BMW 327, the coupé variant of the 326.  I wrote about those designs here.

As background, here are relevant wheelbase numbers: The BMW 327 coupé's was 108 inches (2750 mm); the BMW 326 sedan's was 113 inches (2870 mm); and the Bristol 400's was 114 inches (2793 mm).

The Gallery below includes an image of a BMW 327 for reference, even though the Bristol design is not credited as being related.  Bristol 400 images below are from Iconic Auctioneers.  The photo of the BMW is of a car listed for sale.

Gallery

1938c. BMW 327 Coupé
The nearest-related BMW design to the Bristol 400.

1948 Bristol 400 Coupé
A bit contrary to what I noted above, there are indeed some superficial resemblances to the BMW 327 -- though  most cars from the same general era share thematic features.  That said, note the overall profiles, the hood cutlines and the door arrangement.  Passenger compartment greenhouses are similar aside from the B-pillars and related quarter windows.  They share the same turn-indicator wand position abaft of the pillar.  The six-inch (147 mm) wheelbase difference seems to be found forward of the rear fender.

Frazer-Nash style, the Bristol features a BMW-type grille.

The rear is rather dumpy-looking.

Just for fun, here's an all-open view.

The dashboard seems very basic for a high-price car.

1938 BMW 327 Cabriolet Walkaround

BMW's 327 model (Wikipedia entry here) was produced 1937-1941 prewar, and 1946-1955 postwar in East Germany as the BMW 327 and EMW 327.

Before World War 2, BMW automobiles were built in Eisenach in central Germany, a city that fell into the Soviet occupation zone at the end of the war.  Prewar designs were back in production there fairly soon using the BMW brand name.  But following BMWs postwar start of car making in Munich, it was agreed that the East German BMW would be renamed EMW, the "E" referring to Eisenach.  No 327s were built in Munich, as BMW Munich lacked prewar car tooling, and had to create only postwar designs.

According to the link, 505 327s were built postwar, 1,965 prewar.  Initial models were cabriolets (convertible coupes in American parlance).  A coupé body style was introduced late 1938.  Also in 1938, a more powerful version of the 327 was introduced, having the motor of BMW's famed 328 sports/racing car series.  These are known as 327/28s, and their production numbers are included with those for basic 327s.

I could find no reference concerning who styled those attractive 327s, though Peter Schimanowski designed the BMW 326 that has several styling details similar to those on 327s because the latter is an engineering variant of the former.  So it might well be him.

Today's walkaround car is a for-sale in the Netherlands BMW 327 Cabriolet.  They looked good with their tops raised, so most images below show it in that configuration.

Gallery

Convertible top down.  German convertibly tops usually looked bulky when retracted, as is the case here.

Top raised: looks better.

Side view with top down.  That bulky package detracts from an otherwise attractive design.

When raised, the top has a nice, tidy appearance.  A fixed, metallic top with about the same shape would make for a fine, overall design.

However, the driver's view aft with the top raised is minimal.

There is no trunk lid as such.  Access to any storage space would have to be when the spare tire was lifted or, more likely, behind the carseats.

Wheelbase was a fairly long for a sporty car: 108 inches (2,750 mm).

Classic BMW frontal aspect.

1930s BMW 326 Sedan - 327 Coupé Comparison

BMW's model 326 (production years 1936-1941, 15,936 built) was a four-door sedan with convertible variants.  It served as the basis for a two-passenger sporty variant, the BMW 327 (production years 1937-1941, 1,965 built in that time frame).  BMW 327s at first were cabriolets (convertible coupes / drophead coupes), and actual fixed-top coupés were added during 1938.  Data above are for pre- World War 2 production.  Production for both models was resumed postwar in Eisenach, Soviet occupation zone / East Germany.

The 326s and early 327s used the same 1971 cc motors.  A more powerful engine variation used on BMW 328 sports and racing cars was added to the 327 line, those cars named the BMW 327/28.

As for dimensions -- Wheelbases: BMW 326 = 113 inches (2870 mm), BMW 327 = 108 inches (2750 mm);  Lengths: BMW 326 = 180 inches (4600 mm), BMW 327 = 177 inches (4500 mm);  Height: BMW 326 = 61 inches (1540 mm), BMW 327 = 56 inches (1430 mm);  Width for both: 63 inches (1600 mm).  In words, 327s were definitely less tall than 326s, but nearly as long and just as wide.

Regarding styling, credit for the BMW 326 is given to Peter Schimanowski.  I haven't been able to find much information about him, aside from that he continued to style Munich-based BMWs postwar.  I also haven't found credit for the BMW 327's styling, but I think it highly likely that Schimanowski was  greatly involved.

Below are comparative design images.  I haven't discovered the source of the 1936 326 sedan photos, but those of the 1938 327 coupé are via Artcurial, a French auction firm.

Gallery

BMW 326.  The passenger compartment greenhouse is proportionally tall.  Large windows give it an airy appearance that's degraded somewhat by the heavy, rounded roof.

BMW 327 Coupé.  Its frontal components are more integrated than on the 326.  No front catwalk, for instance, replaced by the blended headlight assemblies.  Both cars have V'd, sloped-back windshields.

Greenhouse is lower, windows less high.  The hood cutline is similar, though the side venting shape differs.  Otherwise, both cars appear to share the same hood.  The zone between the A-pillar and hood cutline is greater here.  The forward door cutlines seem the same, and door handle positions ditto.  Fenders on the 327 are longer with more pleasing curvatures.  But note that both cars' fenders feature sculpting along their sides.

That fender sculpting is seen in these images as well.  Spare tires are trunk-mounted on both cars, though the 327's treatment is cleaner, more integrated.  Backlight windows are two-pane on both cars, though not the same shape.  The 326 had dual bumper bars front and rear, but for the 327, only one at each end.