BMW ‘open to owners modifying their 4 Series’: Weil

Given that the G22 BMW 4 Series has been intentionally designed to set itself further apart from its four-door sibling, the 3 Series, BMW head of exterior design Christopher Weil says he is aware of the polarising reception for the coupe, although adding that he is open to customers choosing to modify the look of their 4 Series, including its grille, Cars Guide reported.

“We wanted to distance the 4 Series more from the 3 Series. they were very much the same, let’s say, in design expression, and now we wanted to split up the characters,” said Weil, referring to the previous-generation 3 Series and 4 Series.

“The 4 Series, in our aim, should be more expressive, more progressive and also more elegant than the 3 Series. They are two different cars addressing two different sorts of customers,” he said. On the M division offerings, the vertically oriented grilles feature on both the G80 M3 sedan as well as the G82 M4 coupe.

There’s a parallel with the world of two wheels, too, says Weil, who likes the idea of customising a car as is done with motorcycles. If people think they can make a car’s styling more suited to their preferences, “of course they should do it,” Weil said.

G80 BMW M3, with M Performance equipment

From within the BMW Motorrad brand alone there are numerous bikes which have served as the basis for custom work, such as the Blechmann R18 custom bike and the Nmoto Nostalgia Project R, to name but two. We’ve also photographed locally the BMW x Heiwa R nineT Scrambler, which was built in cooperation with BMW Motorrad.

Back on four wheels – BMW offers ‘very expressive pieces’ of equipment towards that objective, as the German manufacturer has offered a host of parts for various models, both regular and M division cars, including the 4 Series.

That said, the head of exterior design also believes that polarising opinion with design is a good thing, as he thinks there are already enough cars in the BMW line-up which ‘address classical themes of classical beauty, and the company wants to ‘shift boundaries’ with products like the 4 Series, he said.

“We are hoping that this car appeals to young customers, but I would say if young or old, it’s addressing a certain mindset,” Weil said. Your thoughts, dear readers?

M Carbon Exterior Package, M Performance Parts