Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss330
Crash protection mandates this and was also seen on early prototypes quite a while ago.
Audi, Lexus etc also have huge grilles (as their design language). Audi also used to have a small grille above the crash structure, but changed their design. I don't think many Audi customers want the old design back, even though the big grille is there purely for design purposes.
When Audi (and Lexus) introduced their large grilles it was met with the same reactions as BMW is facing now. Perhaps history repeats itselves in this case also...
BMW have done the same on previous generations as well. The kidneys on the E21, E30, E28 and E34 for instance was just a design element of the grille, not needed for cooling purposes (they could actually had better air flow without the kidney surround blanking off part of the grille opening).
Yes, it's a design decision. But isn't design an important feature, even of a M-car?
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I think this stems from the false belief many had that the big grill was to improve cooling. With this video, it proves it was clearly not the case. One could even argue that the new design actually allows less airflow compared to the F8X when seen with the bumper off.
Yes, design aesthetics have always been an important element of ///M cars. Elegance and engineering purpose have always been attractive to me. But it has to be said, the G8X is definitely controversial in terms of looks, even more so when it cannot be justified by technical reasons.