{"id":85004,"date":"2026-03-11T06:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T10:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85004"},"modified":"2026-03-11T06:00:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T10:00:27","slug":"bmw-neue-klasse-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85004","title":{"rendered":"BMW&#8217;s New Design Language Is Its Biggest Reset in 20 Years \u2014 Here&#8217;s What It Actually Means"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"post-summary-wrap\">\n<h3 class=\"post-summary-title\">Article Summary<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"post-summary-list\">\n<li>The Neue Klasse replaces BMW&#8217;s entire design language \u2014 no old-style cars will continue alongside it. The oversized kidney grille era is over, and van Hooydonk has admitted it had drifted too far toward Chinese market tastes at the expense of global appeal.<\/li>\n<li>The new design brings back proportions from the 1960s originals \u2014 vertical kidneys on SUVs, horizontal on sedans, a shark-nose front end, and far cleaner body surfaces \u2014 while adding a &#8220;phygital&#8221; front end that activates as you approach the car.<\/li>\n<li>The iX3 is already on sale, the i3 debuts this month, and the X5 generation isn&#8217;t far behind. Whether you love the new look or not, every BMW going forward will wear it \u2014 and for the first time in a while, they&#8217;ll all look like they&#8217;re part of the same family.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p>If you\u2019ve been following BMW long enough, you probably remember the moment the giant kidneys stopped feeling bold and started feeling like a problem. It didn\u2019t happen overnight. There was the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2025\/11\/18\/bmw-x7-designed-20-years-early\/\">X7<\/a>. Then the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2025\/08\/21\/bmw-3-0-csl-hommage-4-series-grille-design\/\">4 Series<\/a>. Then the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2026\/03\/10\/should-you-buy-bmw-ix-i4-before-neue-klasse\/\">iX<\/a>. Each time, BMW pushed harder, and each time, the conversation shifted a little more from the cars themselves to the grilles. That\u2019s not where you want to be as a brand.<\/p>\n<p>The Neue Klasse design language is BMW\u2019s answer to that \u2014 and it\u2019s the biggest visual reset since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2025\/12\/28\/bangle-butt-bmw-explained\/\">Chris Bangle<\/a> rewrote the rulebook in the early 2000s. The production 2026 iX3 is the first car wearing it on real roads. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2026\/03\/05\/bmw-i3-march-18-debut\/\">i3 electric sedan debuts March 18<\/a>. After that, every single BMW gets it. This is worth understanding properly.<\/p>\n<h3>A Name That Means Business<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_493979\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-493979\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/bmw-1500-neue-klasse-08.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-493979\" title=\"P90074530\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/bmw-1500-neue-klasse-08-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"Side view BMW 1500\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/bmw-1500-neue-klasse-08-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/bmw-1500-neue-klasse-08-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/bmw-1500-neue-klasse-08-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/bmw-1500-neue-klasse-08-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/bmw-1500-neue-klasse-08.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-493979\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">50 Years of BMW New Class, BMW 1500 (03\/2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>BMW didn\u2019t choose \u201cNeue Klasse\u201d by accident. In the 1960s, the original Neue Klasse cars \u2014 tight, driver-focused sedans with clean proportions \u2014 literally saved the company from going under and became the foundation for everything BMW has been since. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2025\/09\/04\/bmw-ev-history-1602-elektro-to-neue-klasse\/\">1602<\/a>, the 2002, the DNA that eventually gave us the E30 and E46. It all traces back to that era.<\/p>\n<p>Calling this new generation Neue Klasse is BMW saying: this is that kind of moment. Not a facelift. Not a platform update. A reset.<\/p>\n<p>Design chief Adrian van Hooydonk hasn\u2019t been shy about it. \u201cNeue Klasse is skipping an entire vehicle generation,\u201d he said. When asked point-blank whether cars in the old design language would continue alongside the new one, he shut it down: \u201cNo, we won\u2019t. Neue Klasse is a starting point for a change in our form language,\u201d he told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.motor1.com\/features\/755416\/bmw-neue-klasse-hooydonk-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Motor1<\/em><\/a>. Every new BMW from here on looks like this.<\/p>\n<p>The guiding philosophy is electric, digital, circular \u2014 but what that actually means for how the cars look is simpler than any of those words. Van Hooydonk described the goal as longevity: \u201cWe wanted a formal language that was very long-lasting. That\u2019s why it\u2019s simpler.\u201d He put it even more plainly in another interview for <em>Handelsblatt<\/em>: \u201cThe world is getting louder and louder, so I\u2019m happy if we bring a little peace and quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For those of us who\u2019ve been waiting for BMW to calm down, that\u2019s a genuinely encouraging thing to hear from the top of the design organization.<\/p>\n<h3>The Front End Explained<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-40-1-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-511135\" title=\"2026 BMW IX3 40\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-40-1-830x554.jpg\" alt=\"2026 BMW IX3 kidney grille\" width=\"830\" height=\"554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-40-1-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-40-1-1535x1024.jpg 1535w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-40-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-40-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-40-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-40-1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The kidney grille is obviously where your eye goes first, so let\u2019s deal with it. Gone is the wide, chrome-framed, argument-starting grille of recent BMWs. What\u2019s taken its place on the iX3 is a smaller, vertically oriented, three-dimensional shape \u2014 backlit, and designed to activate as you approach the car. BMW calls this the \u201cphygital\u201d approach: a mix of physical form and digital illumination that gives the front end a slightly animated, almost alive quality that photos don\u2019t fully capture.<\/p>\n<p>The vertical orientation is a deliberate callback to the 1960s Neue Klasse cars. Those kidneys were upright and compact, sitting naturally in the fascia rather than dominating it. The iX3 brings that proportion back in a modern form. It works.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s something van Hooydonk admitted that\u2019s worth noting: the oversized grilles of the past decade were partly driven by Chinese market preferences. That\u2019s a rare public acknowledgment that the design had been shaped by one market at the expense of BMW\u2019s broader identity. The Neue Klasse is explicitly intended to have global appeal again.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/BMW-i3-teaser.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-511091\" title=\"BMW I3 TEASER\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/BMW-i3-teaser-830x552.jpg\" alt=\"BMW I3 TEASER\" width=\"830\" height=\"552\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/BMW-i3-teaser-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/BMW-i3-teaser-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/BMW-i3-teaser-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/BMW-i3-teaser.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For sedans \u2014 and this matters if you\u2019re waiting for the i3 \u2014 the kidney takes a different shape altogether. Wider, lower, more horizontal, with light graphics running through it. It\u2019s closer to what you\u2019d expect from a classic BMW saloon, which makes sense given the i3 is meant to be the spiritual successor to the 3 Series.<\/p>\n<p>The headlights are the other major story. The classic four-eye face is still there, but completely rethought. Round units are out. In their place are slanted, vertical LED elements \u2014 sharper and more architectural \u2014 that keep the twin-light signature recognizable while making it feel genuinely new rather than warmed over.<\/p>\n<p>As the design spreads to larger models, those signatures will keep evolving too. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2025\/12\/10\/2027-bmw-x5-headlight-rendering\/\">Renderings for the 2027 X5<\/a> point to an X-shaped DRL pattern inside the headlights \u2014 a reference to xDrive. Still unconfirmed, but honestly, it would fit perfectly.<\/p>\n<h3>The Front, Sides and Rear: Less Is Doing a Lot of Work Here<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-45.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-511014\" title=\"2026 BMW IX3 45\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-45-830x517.jpg\" alt=\"2026 BMW IX3 side view\" width=\"830\" height=\"517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-45-830x517.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-45-1645x1024.jpg 1645w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-45-768x478.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-45-1536x956.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-45-2048x1275.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Walk around the iX3 and the thing that hits you isn\u2019t what\u2019s there \u2014 it\u2019s what isn\u2019t. Recent BMWs piled on character lines. Hood folds, shoulder creases, door swells, all stacked on top of each other. The Neue Klasse cars remove most of it. Big, clean surfaces defined by just a few precise lines. The body looks sculpted rather than over-worked.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-7.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-510978\" title=\"2026 BMW IX3 7\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-7-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"2026 BMW IX3 kidney\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-7-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-7-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-7-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-7-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The nose has a subtle downward slope toward the front fascia that long-time BMW fans will recognize immediately \u2014 it\u2019s the old shark-nose quality from E30-era cars, brought back quietly and without fanfare. Air openings are smaller too, and that\u2019s not just a styling choice. On an EV platform, you genuinely don\u2019t need massive inlets, so the design doesn\u2019t have to fake them.<\/p>\n<p>The Hofmeister kink is still there \u2014 BMW has used that rear quarter-window upturn since 1961 and it\u2019s not going anywhere. But it\u2019s sharper now, more deliberate. On recent cars it started to feel like a habit. Here it reads like a choice.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-right-hand-drive-white-interior-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-511337\" title=\"2026 BMW IX3 RIGHT HAND DRIVE WHITE INTERIOR 3\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-right-hand-drive-white-interior-3-830x554.jpg\" alt=\"2026 BMW IX3 taillights\" width=\"830\" height=\"554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-right-hand-drive-white-interior-3-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-right-hand-drive-white-interior-3-1535x1024.jpg 1535w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-right-hand-drive-white-interior-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-right-hand-drive-white-interior-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-right-hand-drive-white-interior-3-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-right-hand-drive-white-interior-3-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Out back, slim horizontal taillights stretch toward the center of the tailgate. Bumpers are cleaner without the faux diffusers and the overly aggressive lower trims that became visual noise on recent models. The rear of the iX3 has a composure that BMW SUVs have honestly been missing for a while.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_508301\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-508301\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2027-BMW-i3-rendering-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-508301\" title=\"2027 BMW I3 RENDERING 2\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2027-BMW-i3-rendering-2-717x830.jpg\" alt=\"2027 BMW I3 RENDERING 2\" width=\"717\" height=\"830\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2027-BMW-i3-rendering-2-717x830.jpg 717w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2027-BMW-i3-rendering-2-885x1024.jpg 885w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2027-BMW-i3-rendering-2-768x889.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2027-BMW-i3-rendering-2-1328x1536.jpg 1328w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2027-BMW-i3-rendering-2.jpg 1770w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px\"\/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-508301\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">BMW i3 sedan rendering \/ https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/futurecarsnow\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The i3 sedan takes all of this even further. From what we\u2019ve seen in spy shots and renderings, it\u2019s a proper 2.5-box sedan silhouette \u2014 long hood, short overhangs, a roofline that consciously echoes the E30 generation. Retractable door handles smooth out the flanks. It looks like a BMW that\u2019s comfortable in its own skin, which hasn\u2019t always been true of the brand\u2019s recent designs.<\/p>\n<h3>The Interior: A Giant Tablet, But Better Than Before<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-52-1-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-511147\" title=\"2026 BMW IX3 52\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-52-1-830x554.jpg\" alt=\"2026 BMW IX3 central display\" width=\"830\" height=\"554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-52-1-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-52-1-1535x1024.jpg 1535w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-52-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-52-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-52-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-52-1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s where the \u201cdigital\u201d part of BMW\u2019s philosophy actually shows up, and it\u2019s more interesting for what BMW chose not to do.<\/p>\n<p>The centerpiece of the Neue Klasse cabin is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2024\/03\/21\/new-idrive-x-and-panoramic-vision-all-you-need-to-know\/\">Panoramic iDrive<\/a> \u2014 a fancy <em>sort of<\/em> head-up display that spans the full width of the windscreen, paired with a 17.9-inch central touchscreen for secondary functions. The driver\u2019s portion of the Panoramic Display stays clean and relevant: speed, navigation, charge level. The wider portion of the display opens up the experience for everyone in the car. The steering wheel loses its physical buttons in favor of many haptic control pads with tactile feedback.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-64-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-511158\" title=\"2026 BMW IX3 64\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-64-830x554.jpg\" alt=\"2026 BMW IX3 64\" width=\"830\" height=\"554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-64-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-64-1535x1024.jpg 1535w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-64-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-64-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-64-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-64-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s what actually matters: BMW didn\u2019t just turn the dashboard into a screen. No single giant tablet eating the entire center console. No touchscreen-everything setup. Van Hooydonk drew a line early: \u201cThe car is not completely switchless.\u201d Of course, many BMW enthusiasts would disagree and that\u2019s fair if you compare the iX3 to many of the previous BMWs.<\/p>\n<p>The overall dashboard architecture is cleaner, more horizontal, more open. But at the same time, it doesn\u2019t feel like a cockpit anymore. Surprising? Hardly. The writing has been on the wall for quite some time. The 1960s Neue Klasse interiors used simple analog gauges because that was the best technology available then. The new one uses screens and haptics for the same reason because that\u2019s what some of the new generation drivers want now.<\/p>\n<h3>So where does this actually leave us?<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/2025-bmw-m440i-coupe-17.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-495365\" title=\"2025-bmw-m440i-coupe-17\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/2025-bmw-m440i-coupe-17-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"BMW M440i Kidney Grille\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/2025-bmw-m440i-coupe-17-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/2025-bmw-m440i-coupe-17-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/2025-bmw-m440i-coupe-17-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/2025-bmw-m440i-coupe-17-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/2025-bmw-m440i-coupe-17.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The old BMW design era had its defenders, but by the early 2020s the grille jokes had taken on a life of their own. The kidney became the thing people talked about instead of the cars. Van Hooydonk clearly knew it: \u201cThe overall design language is going to be cleaner than what you know from us today, but it is 100 percent recognizable as a BMW.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Looking at the iX3, and at what we\u2019ve seen of the i3 in teasers, that claim holds up. The brand DNA is intact \u2014 the kidneys, the shark nose, the Hofmeister kink \u2014 but it\u2019s all speaking a quieter, more confident language now.<\/p>\n<p>Is it universally loved? No. It won\u2019t be. The front end, particularly on the iX3, still divides people \u2014 Carwow were blunt that it isn\u2019t conventionally pretty, even while acknowledging it has real presence. And that\u2019s fine. BMW design has rarely been universally loved at launch. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2023\/06\/20\/was-the-e65-7-series-lci-was-the-most-improved-facelift-in-bmws-history\/\">E65 7 Series<\/a> was genuinely controversial. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2020\/09\/26\/chris-bangle-reveals-the-truth-of-the-e60-5-series-design\/\">E60 5 Series<\/a> got brutal reviews. History has been kind to both.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s different this time is coherence. The iX3 and the early i3 spy images clearly speak the same language in a way that, if we\u2019re honest, recent BMW sedans and SUVs sometimes didn\u2019t. They felt like they came from different design teams working in parallel. The Neue Klasse cars feel like they belong together.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not a small thing. The i3 debuts this month. The X5 generation isn\u2019t far behind. We\u2019re about to find out just how far BMW can take this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article Summary The Neue Klasse replaces BMW&#8217;s entire design language \u2014 no old-style cars will continue alongside it. The oversized kidney grille era is over, and van Hooydonk has admitted it had drifted too far toward Chinese market tastes at the expense of global appeal. The new design brings back proportions from the 1960s originals [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85005,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/85005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}