[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by chris719

Uh, yeah, except you're completely wrong. They have always used the coupe front end. It's just never diverged this much so you, apparently, never noticed.

A better way to put it is that the M3/M4 (or M3 sedan) always has the same front and it is always bespoke.

Don't be so parochial. There were M3s before there were 4-series, and the grilles from M3s would always fit in the normal 3-series cars. For instance, and E30 M3 center grille fits any other E30. There was no compelling reason for BMW to use the new 4-series grille on the upcoming M3 when the M340i front-end would have served perfectly well. Jamming the grille from a 1972 Ford Torino in the M3 isn't supported by any engineering or aero-tuning claims.