BMW has just dropped twin megaton bombs in the form of the G-series M3 and M4, and although there's plenty of big news in terms of new technology and features, most people can't get over the styling - particularly that of the front end with its massive longitudinal grille arrangement. The BMW X7 SUV also has big grilles, but they're different from those on Munich's new M cars. So what if performance SUVs wore the grille instead? We thought it might work, so we designed renders of the X5 M and X6 M with the grilles from the new M3. The result is bold and proud, something that suits a high-performance SUV.

We're not professional designers who create the aesthetics of a new model line from scratch, but we're pretty pleased with the way this has turned out. It's overt, it's excessive, it's attention-grabbing. But it's also aggressive, menacing, and clearly still has that BMW flavor. Obviously, there's a good chance that these particular grilles could make their way to all performance versions of Bavaria's best cars, but for now, while we're still adjusting to the change, we decided to have a crack at fixing the new M3 too. The new look is already growing on us, but we still must concede that more subtle kidneys look much better, as we've demonstrated below.

With grilles adapted from those on the BMW M340i, the new M3 would look a lot more sleek, potent, and attractive. Part of the problem with the new grille design that BMW refuses to denounce is that the lower bumper grille gets squashed, but with our adaptation, the car looks wider and lower. Surely BMW's designers must have considered making the new M3 like this. If they had done so while leaving the M4 with its bucktooth design, the brand could push forward with new design experiments and also keep the fans happy. However, the charge cooler is in a new place on the car and BMW claims that the large grilles are imperative for cooling. Thus, it's highly unlikely that BMW will change the grille for the facelifted version in a couple of years.