All of the press pictures seem to have the front license plate installed. That, combined with Domagoj Dukec's comments about wanting to achieve the symmetry of the centered plate mounting make me think that the grille design was largely driven by the appearance after mounting the plate.
I (thankfully) live in a jurisdiction that does not require front plates. Without one, the grille, I think, is more obvious and glaring. For better or worse, it's what drove me to the M340i instead of going back to the coupe I was accustomed to with my e92.
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