Thoughts on the 2021 BMW M3

Personal File: The new BMW M3 and M4 made waves this week and generated a ton of online discussion. The designs of the coupe and sedan are very similar up front with massive twin kidney grilles that wouldn't look out of place on big rig semi truck. Needless to say it's been designed to be polarizing. The sculpted hood wouldn't be too far off if Pontiac was still alive and kicking. From the front wheel arches back, everything diverges especially in the rear - where each car takes on it's own personality. The M3 carries the more traditional and classic BMW sedan design cues, while the M4 breaks new ground and perhaps losing some BMW-ness in the process.

Creative Brief: The goal of this chop was to take the excessively large kidney grilles and resize and reshape them down into more realistic proportions with the rest of the car. Then just a few bits to tidy up that will bring it all together.

Execution Highlights - Front Grille Comparison

• Decreased kidney grilles to better proportions
• Lower air dam intake now goes across the entire front face
• Retailored inner headlight housings on both sides
• Color change and black hood stripes!

Final Thoughts: I'm very pleased with how the chop came together. The smaller kidney grilles helped the front end flow better and the horizontally connected lower grille grounds the vehicle and makes it look wider. What do you think? Did I make it better or worse?

All source photos copyright original owners

Thoughts on the 2020 Nissan Z Proto

Personal File: The new Nissan Z Proto just hit the airways this week and it is making quite a stir. It's been a long time since Nissan gave us new a Z - in fact you have to go all the way back to 2009. Much like the GT-R concept shown at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, the finer details of the Z Proto are not yet fully baked, but it does give a good indication of the overall design language, interior concepts, and structure of the vehicle.

Overall the car moves away from the past few generations and favors instead a mix of it's greatest hits. Gone are the bold (overstyled) elements like the boomerang headlights and tail lights and instead feature heavy Fairlady 240Z influences in the front and profile combined with a very miminialist 300ZX style rear end. There is no mistaking this is a Z car and that's a good thing.

Creative Brief: As much as I like the concept car there just aren't enough details in the design. The goal of this triptych was to take what Nissan started with and lay in details with what I hope the real production car might look like when revealed. Some of the highlights include:

Execution Highlights - Front

• Revised headlights from a 2019 Volkswagen Beetle
• Revised grille and lower air dam
• Added front running lights and grill ports on from from a 2017 Nissan GT-R 
• Revised hood and fascia cut lines
• Color-matched pillars to body color

Execution Highlights - Profile

• Revised headlights and tail lights
• Brightwork deleted after B-pillar window
• Color-matched roof and trunk lid to the main body

Execution Highlights - Rear

• Increased size of tail lights
• Added badge on deck lid
• Moved license plate area
• Simplified lower diffuser
• Brightwork deleted after B-pillar window
• Color-matched roof and trunk lid to the main body

Final Thoughts: I was suprised how quickly this one came together and how much better it flows from all angles of the vehicle. The detail bits and bobs were fun to add from the Volkswagen and the GTR as well. What do you think? Did I make it better or worse?

All source photos copyright original owners

Thoughts on 2016 Mazda MX-5

Personal File: I waited patiently for the Mazda MX-5 reveal for many weeks. The car had been teased under a blue car cover and everyone wondered how it would look ... evolutionary, revolutionary, a more aggressive flavor of KODO styling or something even more radical? What was up Mazda's sleeve? When the covers finally came off last week we were presented with very taunt and simplified KODO language that I found quite pleasing to the eye.

As with other sports cars of the day there are hints of other vehicle design themes, such as a Honda s2000 type hood, Jaguar XK rear light treatment and even BMW Z-cars flame surfacing on the front and rear fenders. Having said that I still think it is instantly recognizable as a Mazda. That is actually what prompted this latest quick chop.

As much as I like the car, there is just something visually off-putting about the front. The headlights seem excessively low to the ground and are at odds with the belt-line. The rear lights kick up higher and are larger than the head lights, which, imho, creates wedge-type look that is not terribly well proportioned. The LED headlights look like they were made to be as miniscule to the design of the front of the vehicle as possible, which I suppose works, but it does take away some of the soul of the vehicle.

Creative Brief: The goal of this quick chop was to proceed with fixing the headlights as I had envisioned to create a simple and effective front-end presentation.

Headlight Comparison

Final Thoughts: With the edits, the profile seems to line up better wrapping around to the front of the car. Overall things look more balanced with a stronger stance as well. I would love to see Mazda look at doing something like this for a mid-cycle enhancement. What do you think? Did I make it better or worse?

All source photos copyright original owners