BMW shocked the automotive world at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show, where it debuted the Concept 4, a preview for the next-generation 4 Series (and its high-performance M4 sibling). The reason for that is the massive double kidney grille that occupies almost half of the coupe's front fascia. About a month later and it's confirmed that the production model will have a similar grille.

How do we know that?

The folks over at Drivetribe managed to get their hands on a photo that shows part of the next-generation's 4 Series front fascia. How do we know it's a 4 Series and not the Concept 4 show car? The big news here is that the front grille is just as big as the Concept 4's. There's no official confirmation from BMW that this car is indeed the production 4 Series, but the sources that supplied the photo claims that it's the real deal.

Is this good or bad news?

It depends where you stand really. Many enthusiasts have criticized this feature when the concept car made its global debut, but I'm sure some actually dig the oversized grille. And as it is the case with most new cars, some who hate it at first will learn to like it over time or after they've seen the car in person. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the look, but I'm not surprised that BMW took this route with the 4 Series (and probably with the 3 Series as well).

Following an already established trend

If you're shocked by the size of the 4 Series' grille, then you probably lived under a rock in the last couple of years. This isn't the first BMW to have such a massive double kidney element. In 2019, it debuted a large grille for cars on the facelifted 7 Series sedan. Granted, the 4 Series' grille is a tad different, mostly because the kidneys have a clear separation between them, but it's by no means surprising or completely new.

BMW also joins other automakers that began using large grilles. Lexus is the obvious example here, but Toyota also adopted a similar element in recent years on some of its models. Audi also started building larger grilles for its cars, as did Volkswagen, which began transferring them from concepts to production vehicles. Hyundai is doing something similar and Mercedes will probably follow suit if recent concept cars are any indication.