BMW’s new generation of giant grilles on models like the X1 and 7-Series have proved highly controversial, but few of the current BMWs stirred up a storm quite like the 2021 4-Series. The company’s design team told us then that we’d get used to the grilles and that despite opposition to them, they weren’t going anywhere. And it looks like they were right. These images of the facelifted 4-Series convertible show that the jumbo-nostril nose will return for the second half of the model’s production run.

Our spy photographers recently spotted the G22-code coupe version of the 4-Series in multiple different configurations and this time BMW’s drivers were unwittingly kind enough to drive two different blue G32 convertibles past our man’s camera, giving us a first look at the M sport (with black wheels) and M440i (silver wheels) models. And while we didn’t manage to bag the four-door G24 Gran Coupe to complete the pack, we can be sure that the same range of updates will apply in each case.

 

This means that very little will change, at least visually. We can see the big grille is staying put, as already discussed, and it looks like BMW is making subtle changes to the lights and bumpers at both ends. Those lights are still single-piece units because BMW reserves its split headlamp arrangement for its top-tier luxury vehicles like the X7 SUV and 7-Series, but these prototypes do feature the boomerang-style integral DRLs recently added to the facelifted X5 and X6 SUVs. We’ve also heard rumors that BMW could make the M Sport package compulsory and ditch the plainer-looking standard models. That’s already a policy in some countries, such as the UK, but the U.S. range currently starts with a simpler Sport model equipped with less aggressive bumpers and smaller wheels.

As for the interior of the updated 4-Series, we’re not expecting huge changes because BMW already added its new combined digital instrument pack and gauge cluster during the 2023 model year. But judging from comments made by BMW in recent weeks, it’s possible that the 4-Series could be the latest model to lose its iDrive rotary controller when it receives the company’s latest iDrive operating system. These spy shots don’t give any indication as to what BMW has planned regarding under-hood changes, but updates are likely to be minor given that the 4-Series’ four and six-cylinder engines, including the 382 hp 3.0-litre B58 in the M440i, already feature mild-hybrid tech.

It’s not even three years since BMW revealed the current 4-Series Coupe and the convertible came four months after that, so we’ve probably got a while to wait yet until we get a look at a fully undisguised car. But it’s probably safe to assume they’ll be in BMW showrooms this time next year.