First off, I'm a BMW loyalist. I've owned 2-E92's, an F30, and currently very happy with my F80. The M3 is my Goldilocks-BMW, it's juuuust right for me.
So, the first time I saw the pictures of the G80 M3, I was naturally horrified. All the usual jokes sprang to mind.
Then I saw the new M3/4 in real life and I have to say my opinion changed. You can't help but smile when you see an M3/4 on a showroom floor, looking all dazzling and powerful, which made me think all sorts of Im-gonna-drive-like-an-M3-asshole thoughts.
Here are my thoughts about the design elements (see pictures below) ...
1)
Grill 
The nose looks better (great?) in real life. Most articles look like they are showing bumper-level photos of the nose and in those cases it does look bigger and more offensive. However, in real life when you see it from the POV of standing above it, it looks really good. Also, imagine what the other cars will see when we roll up on them? At first, I was thinking I'd get black to hide them, but now I'm thinking the Dravit Gray would look awesome.
2)
Hood 
I'm not a fan of the muscle car hood. A traditional M3/CS power dome hood would be way better and can be easily fixed with a new hood, possibly even an excuse to get a CF hood.
3)
Body lines
I have to accept that the G80 body lines are all over the place (last two pictures)
- The F80 has a strong transverse line along its body, starting at the side vent and running close to the top of the side panels all the way to the back. I once read that previous BMW designers drew the body lines of their cars in such a way as to give even stationary vehicles the appearance of moving fast.
- The G80 has no continuous line. It has a line starting at the the side vent and then extending along the bottom, disappearing in the middle and the reappearing at the top above the rear quarter panel.
4)
The Hofmesiter Kink - I can live with this. Its so minor and you won't notice it unless someone points it out (me). However, if you consider yourself one of the BMW-faithful then you should know about it. I'm not sure why BMW decided to change it for the 2, 3, 4, and 8 series, but left it the same for the 5 and 7 series.
5)
Headlights 
- The F80 lights look mean. I'm angry and I want you to GTFO of my way!
- The G80 lights look kinda mean. What do they look like? They don't look F80 mean. Yea cool they have the blue accents, but do they look mean? Maybe they'll look meaner in time. I want the car to look like it's always saying "GTFO of my way!!"
6)
Rear side skirt (last two pictures)
- That black lower, rear side skirt just changes the shape of the G80. It goes from looking like it's tucked in as on the F80 to as if its wearing a skirt and trying desperately to look wider than it is.
A bunch of people are gonna respond and wonder/ask why these things matter to me. Well I'm gonna drive and have to look at one of these things for at least the next 3 years, maybe longer if they don't fix these things. I love my F80 and its as close to a perfect BMW as I have owned thus far. I am curious what AWD and a smoother transmission would be like in the long-term and so as I started reading about the car, and then the hood, it got me thinking about the other design elements as well.
Thanks for reading. Try to keep your comments civil, I'm not hating on the car. I'm probably gonna get an AWD, Dravit Gray G80 loaded to the gills
