The next BMW M4 will probably get a giant kidney grille

Late last week, BMW released a teaser image for the 2022 M4 GT3, which in two years will become BMW M Motorsport’s new range-topping customer racing car set to replace the current M8 GT3. Upon closer examination, we can see that the teaser image appears to feature the same massive kidney grilles that were first teased by the Concept 4 study, presented at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show.

It now seems inevitable that the same gaping grille will be used on the production version of the M4, expected to arrive some time in 2021. Perhaps claiming it’s a nod to the 1933 BMW 303’s giant nostrils, the Bavarian carmaker’s design team decided that regardless of what our brain tells us about awkward proportions, BMW should still put massive kidney grilles on the upcoming generation of its beloved sports car.

In the ensuing months following the Concept 4’s debut, BMW Group’s design director, Adrian van Hooydonk told the media a couple of things addressing this issue. The first was that the enlarged grille on the facelifted 7 Series and X7 was BMW’s response to a demand coming from the Chinese market, where customers expect more radical exterior changes between generations. However, he also added that these giant BMW kidneys may become more subtle, as “design tastes develop” in China.