BMW Concept 4 previews the next 4 Series Coupe

It’s sleek and sinuous, right up until you get to the front. This, BMW fans, is the face of the new 4 Series Coupe, albeit in conceptual form ahead of an impending production model. “The kidney grille has always been a signature feature of BMW cars,” Domagoj Dukec, Head of BMW Design, is quoted to have said in the car’s accompanying press release. “The BMW Concept 4 presents a confident and classy take on this iconic feature. At the same time, the BMW Concept 4 offers a look ahead to the expressive face of the 4 Series range.”

We’re not sure that “confident” and “classy” are the first adjectives that come to mind, but we’ll admit the grille is definitely distinctive. The automaker says the face references “legendary classics such as the BMW 328 or the BMW 3.0 CSi,” which is certainly fair, but it does so in such an exaggerated way that it takes away from the rest of an otherwise harmonious design.

Grille aside, the Concept 4 is an attractive preview of the next-gen 4 Series Coupe and therefore M4. Its lighting clusters front and rear are especially interesting. The headlights have no glass cover over their three-dimensional LED elements, and the taillights are similarly uncovered with a fiber-optic element that stretches horizontally under a sort of duckbill rear spoiler.

We’re holding out hope that the actual production 4 Series Coupe will keep the overall artfully penned shape of the Concept 4, but with a significantly toned down version of that jarringly garish grille. See it in high-res glory in our image gallery up above.