Think of any of its recent high-profile new models, such as the BMW iX, BMW 1 Series, BMW 4 Series or recently revealed BMW 7 Series, and today’s BMW might not strike you as a company that is particularly nostalgic, or one that cares much about its heritage.
All the typical BMW hallmarks – a long bonnet, rear-wheel drive, subtle kidney grilles, the Hofmeister kink – have been either ditched or substantially reinterpreted.
And then there is the new BMW 2 Series Coupé. It doesn’t get much more ‘traditional BMW’ than this. All the aforementioned traits are present and correct. There are no hybrids and you can even get it with a straight-six petrol engine.
Is this design one that the old guard sneaked through while the new kids weren’t looking? Not at all. It’s a deliberate strategy to retain the more traditional buyer as well as appeal to younger buyers, head of BMW design Domagoj Dukec told us last year. It’s why the tweaked BMW 5 Series didn’t sprout a big grille either when it was facelifted.
Dukec added: “There’s a reason why the BMW Neue Klasse is a very typical three-box silhouette. That’s the case for every car we’re doing today. The 2 Series Coupé is the best example: we have a rear-wheel-drive proportion but we treat it as a three-box. There are no other cars like it in the segment.”