What is BMW doing

[ZedLeg]

Are they looking at the grilles at a different scale to the rest of the cars?

[NotoriousREV]

Every time I see the official photos I think it's a photoshop piss take.

[tim]

Doing an Audi.

[mik]

Grilles must be the new wheels.

Biggah iz bettah!

[Rich B]

Someone signed these off. Is there some huge market like China or something that like cars that look like that big beast thing in star wars (no, not John Boyega smart arse.)

[Mito Man]

My favourite thing about the absurdity of the 7 series grill is that it’s stretched so far beyond being functional that they’ve blanked the top 1/3 of it off.

[Jobbo]

If they make them ugly enough, the Chinese won't copy them quite so directly?

[NotoriousREV]

If they make them ugly enough, the Chinese won't copy them quite so directly?

Or they’ve realised they can buy cheap, Chinese copies of their own cars on Aliexpress so they don’t need to bother making them themselves?

[GG.]

If they make them ugly enough, the Chinese won't copy them quite so directly?

In that case I think they've woefully underestimated the Chinese and their resilience to aesthetic horrors.

[IanF]

Active aero/cooling Mito. I don't mind it, although I've never thought a Rolls Royce has too big a grill either! Asia, especially China and India, seems to like this style and the US like old school large grills aswell, so maybe it's just British sensitivities?

[Mito Man]

I’m referring to the non active part at the top which is blanked off. It will look really crap when the rest of the grill is open.


I don’t have an issue with big grills either, it’s just that some iconic designs don’t work in a bigger form factor. For example there’s no way to make an Alfa grill big so they enlarge the lower grill on the bumper, much the same applies to the kidney grill. BMW say they’re paying homage to the 328 Roadster but that also looked crap, the 507 which had the grill stretched horizontally worked much better in that regard.

[Foz]

BMW styling really is shit these days, can’t see me going back to the brand any time soon.

[integrale_evo]

I don't hate the 7er, it a big silly car which kind of suits a big silly grille, and it's far from the worst looking 7 series there's been.

The 4x4 thing ( I forget which one it is ) looks like a photoshopped joke.

[Swervin_Mervin]

it's far from the worst looking 7 series there's been.

Really?

[Rich B]

it's far from the worst looking 7 series there's been.

Really?

worst imo.

[Swervin_Mervin]

Granted the E65 wasn't a looker, but I think it's aged fairly well.

It's not just the grille on the new one but those bloody awful chrome strips than run from behind the front arch and along the sill. The same ones they're ruining numerous other models with at the moment.

Still, they're to be applauded in this day and age for still knocking them out with a V12

[integrale_evo]

Come off it, the e65 was a vile mess that's certainly not got better with age

[Swervin_Mervin]

You've picked by far and away the worst example there to illustrate your point

I rather like this:

[Foz]

Facelift on the big wheels is a nice car!

[integrale_evo]

The original was so ugly they made prefacelift tweets a couple of years after launch, and offered a conversion kit after the facelift to update the earlier cars.

That pic wasn't chosen as a specifically ugly one, it was the first release spec car I found as they probably broke most cameras.