A radical redesign is all it took to make the front end of these new BMW M-cars look alright.
Despite how great the performance specs are on the new BMW M3 sedan and M4 coupe, the whole conversation regarding these new sporty Bimmers are all surrounding its controversial new front face.
To many, saying that the polarising new face is striking is already doing it a favour. Happily however, to the majority who aren’t keen on the polarising new look, but still want the full-fat M car, help is at hand from Prior Design.
In a new YouTube video uploaded by the German auto tuning house that has since been the talk of the town in the automotive community, Andreas Belzek, who heads Prior Design, discusses how that he, like many others, are still not sold on the new front end aesthetic on these new BMWs yet. Conversing fluently in German, we are also treated to a few renderings of what the design team behind Prior Design can do transform the front end of these BMWs.
Over the 9-ish minute long video, several designs were display. Though it could be said that there were only two main design directions, while the rest were subtle variations on said direction. In all of the designs shown however, the running theme was shrinking that lung-shaped grille into a more appealing size. All the designs too retained the bonnet shut lines and standard LED headlights, the rest of the front end however was open season for the design team.
The first of the major design shrinks the large front grille to roughly a third of its original size. Leaving only two of the six horizontal slats where it originally was. The rest of it meanwhile is replaced with a new front bumper that looks to be a more aggressive evolution of the one on the prior F30 generation BMW M3/M4.
Featuring a wide central air intake, flanked by twin sharply creased side air slits on either side. Rounding off the render is a supposed carbon front splitter and side still extensions made of the same material.
Moving onto the second major design, the front grille now only shrinks to half its original size. Leaving three slats, out of the original six. According to Andreas, this second design supposedly draws inspiration from the current BMW M8. Especially in regards to the use of the carbon fibre accents around the grille surround. Prior Design has also rendered the traditional vertical-slat front grilles onto a red M3, as seen further below.
Of course, being a bodykit manufacturer, Prior Design has also rendered wide body iterations of both designs too. Shown here with a less pronounced bonnet too compared to the stock one. A bonnet that incidentally further accentuates the large twin-nostril design.
Existing only as computer renders at the moment, it will probably come as no surprise that the company has decided that it will most probably put these kits into production. Especially following from the shower of positive reception it has received. Moreover, while these are one of the first few kits out there to reshape the ‘interesting looking’ front fascia of these sporty Bimmers more appealing, it will certainly not be the last.
