Redesigned BMW 4 Series Coupé

-
The redesigned BMW 4 Series Coupé (Wikipedia entry here) is a few months from appearing in showrooms as I draft this post (July), but photos are available on the Internet.

Those images are of a car painted white, which means that subtle areas of body sculpting can't be seen clearly.  Nevertheless, I'm writing about the new 4 Series because of its grille design, a new variation on BMW's traditional two-element "nostrils" format.  Each element is seven-sided with angles softened slightly by sharp-radius curves.  Also, the size of the assembly is large.

Those two features -- rather geometric outlines and large size seem to be a new styling direction for BMW.  For example, the new 7 Series sedan has a large grille ensemble and the the concept version of the 4 Series as well as the Concept i4 electric car have large, angular grille shapes.

The images below juxtapose the previous 4 Series with the 2021 version.

Gallery

Previous 4 Series Coupé.  Generally a nice design, though I quibble with the linkage of the headlight assemblies and the grille frame.

The forthcoming 4 Series.  As mentioned, body sculpting isn't easy to understand, given the white paint job that virtually eliminates highlights.  The upper side character line is shorter and there seem to be subtle bulges at either end.


Seen from the side, there are differences, but the styling theme is carried over in the redesign.


Rear styling on the 2021 car is cliché-ridden like the earlier model.  But sculpting is more rounded off, creating a softer effect.

Front of the 2021 4 Series.  From this photo it's hard to tell how much of the "openings" are actually functional air intakes.  Note the nostril outlines, the "teeth" interior décor and the relationship of the BMW symbol to the ensemble.  My main complaints are the size of the ensemble and the tacked-on appearance of any license plates required at the front.  The nostril outlines are an interesting new variation on a theme that has had many such variations of the last 90 years.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Using the SG3525 PWM Controller - Explanation and Example: Circuit Diagram / Schematic of Push-Pull Converter

-
Image
PWM is used in all sorts of power control and converter circuits. Some common examples include motor control, DC-DC converters, DC-AC inverters and lamp dimmers. There are numerous PWM controllers available that make the use and application of PWM quite easy. One of the most popular of such controllers is the versatile and ubiquitous SG3525 produced by multiple manufacturers – ST Microelectronics, Fairchild Semiconductors, On Semiconductors, to name a few. SG3525 is used extensively in DC-DC converters, DC-AC inverters, home UPS systems, solar inverters, power supplies, battery chargers and numerous other applications. With proper understanding, you can soon start using SG3525 yourself in such applications or any other application really that demands PWM control. Before going on to the description and application, let’s first take a look at the block diagram and the pin layout. Pins 1 (Inverting Input) and 2 (Non Inverting Input) are the inputs to the on-board error amplifier. If you a...
Read more

N-Channel MOSFET High-Side Drive: When, Why and How?

-
Image
I had previously shown how to drive N-channel MOSFETs in low-side configuration. You can find the tutorial here: http://electel.blogspot.com/2016/12/low-side-mosfet-drive-circuits-and_23.html I’ve been requested to write a tutorial/article regarding high-side MOSFET drive. So, here I’ll talk about N-channel MOSFET high-side drive. Let’s first look at the common low side configuration.  Fig. 1 - N-channel MOSFET configured as low-side switch Now let’s look at a MOSFET configured as a high-side switch. Fig. 2 - N-channel MOSFET configured as high-side switch You can quite easily see the difference between the high-side configuration and the low-side configuration. In the low-side configuration, the load is connected between the drain and +V, while the source is connected to ground. Thus, the gate drive is referenced to ground. So by applying a voltage of >7V (for Power MOSFETs) or >4V (for Logic Level MOSFETs), the MOSFET can be fully turned on. Now let’s talk about the high-si...
Read more

Low-Side MOSFET Drive Circuits and Techniques - 7 Practical Circuits

-
Image
In many circuits, it is necessary to use MOSFETs for switching. In many cases, the MOSFET drive signals are generated by microcontrollers. In other cases, they are generated by ICs – PWM controllers, timers or any IC in fact. However, MOSFETs cannot always just be connected to the drive signal and be expected to work properly. Due to the construction of the MOSFET, driving it is not the simplest of tasks, especially for beginners. There are many users who regularly ask for help on MOSFET drive related issues or problems on different blogs, websites and forums. So, here I will show some MOSFET drive techniques/methods for MOSFETs configured as low-side switches. Before I head on to MOSFET drive, let me just tell you what a low-side switch is, in case you don't know. When the MOSFET (that you're using as a switch) sinks current, it is a low-side switch. The load will be between the drain and +V supply. The source will be connected to ground. Gate will be driven with respect to gr...
Read more