The History of the BMW Kidney Grille: How It's Changed Over 100 Years

Photo by Krish Parmar on Unsplash

There are few design elements in the car industry with a history as long or as contested as the BMW kidney grille. It has been narrow and elegant, wide and corporate, shrunk to almost nothing on a racing car, and ballooned to the point where it dominated an entire front end. It has sparked some of the most heated arguments in automotive design circles, generated more online commentary than almost anything BMW has done in decades, and yet, through all of it, remained instantly recognisable as BMW.

Here is how it started, and how it got here.

1933: The BMW 303 and the First Double Kidney

The BMW front grille as we recognise it today was born in 1933, on the 303, the brand's first six-cylinder model, launched at the Berlin Motor Show. Designer Fritz Fiedler divided the radiator grille into two vertical shapes with a chrome centre bar, rounded at the top and bottom. The BMW emblem sat between the upper arches. It was a practical design in part, the split grille angled rearward for aerodynamic benefit, but what it created was a face unlike anything else on the road at the time.

By the time the 328 arrived in 1936, the BMW front grille was already well established as a brand marker, and the 328's racing success across Europe made the double kidney famous beyond Germany's borders.

The 1950s: Elegant and Restrained

The postwar 501 and 502 models carried forward the kidney shape with relatively modest changes, but the 1950s brought the most elegant interpretation the grille has perhaps ever had. The 1956 BMW 503 shrunk the kidney significantly, complementing it with additional side air intakes. That same year, the 507 Roadster went further still. Its front grille was wide and low, almost horizontal, an entirely different proportion to what had come before, made necessary by the wide V8 engine underneath. On the 507, the BMW grille looks more like a sports car's air dam than a traditional radiator grille.

1961–1980s: Narrower, Cleaner, More Modern

The 1961 BMW 1500 reset the template for everything that followed through to the 1980s. The BMW front grille became narrower and more upright, set between two horizontal grilles that spanned the width of the car. This proportion, the double kidney as a tighter, more precise centrepiece, defined the classic BMW face of the 2002, the early 3 and the 5 Series, and the CS coupés. It was a disciplined, restrained approach, and it worked.

The 1978 M1 took this to a logical extreme. BMW's first standalone M car had one of the smallest kidney grilles ever fitted to a production BMW, almost squeezed flat by the low bonnet line of a mid-engined supercar. Yet it was still unmistakably a BMW front grille, precisely because the proportions and the split shape were so deeply embedded in the brand's identity by then.

1990s–2000s: The Grille Grows Up

Through the E30, E36, and E46 generations of the 3 Series, and the equivalent 5 and 7 Series, the BMW kidney grille maintained broadly consistent proportions, taller than the 1960s–1970s interpretation, more prominent, but still balanced against the bonnet and bumper around it. The 1999 E46 3 Series is often cited as one of the best-proportioned BMW front ends of the modern era precisely because the grille did not dominate the face, but anchored it.

The 2000s saw the grille growing. The Chris Bangle-era BMWs pushed design boundaries across the whole car, and the front grille was no exception, becoming a more dramatic, sculptural element rather than a quiet centrepiece. This was controversial at the time, though many of those cars have subsequently aged well and Bangle's influence on BMW's willingness to push design is now viewed more favourably than it was when the 7 Series E65 first appeared.

2019–Present: The Controversy

The 2019 G20 3 Series arrived with a noticeably larger BMW kidney grille than its predecessor, taller, wider, more assertive. Then the G22 4 Series launched in 2020, and the BMW front grille debate reached a new level of intensity. The 4 Series' grille is substantially taller than any previous interpretation, occupying a proportion of the front end that no earlier BMW would have used. Opinion was and remains divided, with some finding it aggressive and bold, others finding it simply too much.

What followed from BMW was a clear commitment to the large-grille direction rather than a retreat from it. The G60 5 Series, the G70 7 Series, and the new iX all feature prominent, large BMW grilles, though on the electric models, the grille is increasingly sealed rather than genuinely open, with the kidney shape now serving primarily as a brand identifier rather than an air intake at all.

The Electric Era: A Grille Without a Purpose

This is the most interesting chapter the BMW kidney grille has entered. Electric BMWs do not need the same cooling air that internal combustion engines require, which means the large BMW front grille on a car like the iX or the i4 is, technically, doing very little work. BMW has chosen to retain and even enlarge the shape regardless, treating the double kidney as pure brand identity. A face, a logo, a piece of visual language, regardless of whether it admits air.

Whether this is the right choice will be argued for years. But it does illustrate something about the grille's position in BMW's identity: it is no longer just a functional component. It is the thing that makes a BMW instantly recognisable from 100 metres, and that recognition is worth something that cannot easily be expressed in airflow data.

The Neue Klasse models arriving from 2025 will carry the next interpretation, and based on the concept cars BMW has shown, the grille will continue to evolve in proportion and detail while remaining, unmistakably, a BMW front grille.

If you are looking to replace a damaged BMW front grille or grille surround on an F- or G, or U-generation model, MT Auto Parts stocks genuine used BMW front grilles from donor cars with confirmed mileage and a 30-day warranty. Browse current auto accessories and other spares stock at mtautoparts.com or send your registration on WhatsApp.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did BMW first use the kidney grille?

The first BMW kidney grille appeared on the 303 in 1933, designed by Fritz Fiedler. The split double-kidney shape has featured on virtually every BMW production model since.

Why is the BMW 4 Series grille so big?

BMW made a deliberate design decision from around 2019 onwards to increase the proportion and prominence of the kidney grille across the range. The G22 4 Series of 2020 was the clearest expression of this direction, with a significantly taller front grille than any previous production BMW. It remains one of the most debated design choices in the brand's recent history.

Do electric BMWs still have a kidney grille?

Yes, though on electric models the grille is largely sealed rather than genuinely open. Electric BMWs require less cooling air than combustion engines. BMW has chosen to retain the kidney shape as a brand identity element rather than eliminate it.

Can I replace a BMW front grille myself?

On most newer-generation BMW models, the front grille or grille surround is a clip-fit component that can be removed and replaced without specialist tools, though the process varies by model. Genuine used BMW front grille parts from a specialist supplier are a cost-effective way to replace a damaged grille with the correct factory-original component.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only. Design history details are based on published sources and BMW Group press material. MT Auto Parts accepts no liability for decisions made based on content in this article. This is solely informational.