Let's take a look. So far as I can tell, all the images below are sourced from BMW or client agencies.
This is a very early example of BMW's iconic "twin nostril" grille design. It is large, but in those days grilles were sized to cover the radiators behind them.
By the later 1930s BMW grilles had become narrower, sized to the width of the hood.
An example of the classic 1960s grille design. The "nostrils" are small and flanked by essentially rectangular openings.
The main radiator air intake for this 7 Series BMW is below the bumper. The grille elements are now horizontal in keeping with the still-boxy body design. A nice, dignified solution to tradition and brand identification.
A more aerodynamic body here. The grille elements and headlight assemblies are approximately the same size. That, and their shapes make for an awkwardness that's otherwise hard to pin down, though the amber turn indicator elements add to the shape/proportion confusion.
A cleaner solution here as the grille grows taller. I think the bumper- lower air intake ensemble shaping is a bit too simple. Reshaping its upper part a little to slightly wrap the bottom of the grille area would have been an improvement.
The following 7 Series generation has a busier appearance. The grille now begins to wrap up into the hood.
The most recent 7 Series design now has a too-huge grille. The hood-wrapping segment is solid, with faux-openings between the bars. Some BMW SUVs also have massive "nostril" grilles that also strike me as being too large, too aggressive.
Just for fun, here is the front end of a recent electrically power concept BMW. The "grille" is non-functional, included for brand identification purposes. Its perimeter shape is dictated by adjacent body sculpting. It's possible that the next (2025?) 7 Series might include such a design. UPDATE: something much like this is a feature of the forthcoming 2021 BMW 4 Series Coupé.
1 comment:
There is a new biggest BMW SUV in my neighborhood. It was parked in the driveway almost up to the sidewalk, backed in so the front was to the street. I walked by and was horrified by that garish grille. Even though the original Neue Klasse and 1800/2002 were actually designed by an Italian, they had a Bauhaus kind of form following function opposite of garish modernism (with a little Corvair in there). IMO BMW has been going in the wrong direction ever since, but they've really jumped the shark now. I was also horrified a few years ago when I walked by an X6 without knowing about them yet. But people buy them, and the demographic that does is probably a lot bigger than if they had stayed with some version of the original concepts.
The BMW I3 and I4 (interior only) and the new Fit/Jazz we aren't getting point to a return to Bauhausness even in Japan though.
By the way the Bauhaus buildings in Weimar in the former E Germany and professor houses have been restored. The main building has a bunch of museum areas and a very nice coffee house/cafe. And you can stay in the original dorm with its frightening balconies, although the rooms aren't restored to exactly as they were originally, particularly the bathroom down the hall. There's also a Bauhaus prof designed middle class development in the town. Since I was there two years ago a new Bauhaus museum has opened in the town as well. Sorry, fellow Americans - all forbidden fruit at the moment.
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