Well-known car designer Frank Stephenson recently launched a pretty awesome YouTube channel. Not only does he care about some of the cars he has designed – such as the original BMW X5, Fiat’s reborn 500 as de Maserati MC12 – he also dissects the styling of a very different car. The latest video, released earlier this week, looks at the new BMW 4 Series coupe, a car that is causing quite a bit of controversy, namely because of its giant grille.
It’s important to note why Stephenson’s takeover of the 4 Series is extra-interesting. This is a man who has spent many years designing cars for BMW so that he knows all about the internal workings of the company. Even he admits that it is “difficult to understand” why BMW would place such a grid on one of the new cars, because it does not fit with the proportions of the rest of the coupe. Stephenson says the roaster looks almost like nostrils, and that’s not a compliment. He also notes that it is strange that the position of the front license plate was not considered when designing this car. “You can’t forget the registration plate,” he says.
Grille mar, Stephenson says the 4-series has “nice proportions” but finds many other things to nitpick. He regrets, for example, that BMW seems to have almost eliminated the company’s iconic Hofmeister kink and says that “a lot is happening” at the rear. Maybe it’s a good thing BMW will keep this design exclusively for the 4 Series.
The 14 minute long video is a great watch, and Stephenson has a lot of really interesting things to say about the new 4 Series. It’s worth your time, and be sure to stick with what you think of the design of the new 4 Series in the comments.
