We get that BMW’s new concept grille wears a lot of history – 328 coupe, 3.0 CSI – but does it have to wear all the history?

Because if this new Concept 4’s nose was any longer, any wider, it’d be a doorway into another dimension. Welcome, everyone, to what the next generation of BMW’s 4 Series ‘range’ will look like.

‘Range’, you say? The next-generation 4 Series Coupe, yes. Perhaps also the new i4. But this is mere speculation. Time is the ultimate arbiter of truth. Onwards.

Rather than row back on its commitment to monster grilles that represent portals in the space time continuum – hey there, new 7er, new X7 – Munich has doubled down. “The BMW Concept 4 presents a confident and classy take on this iconic feature,” BMW design boss Domagoj Dukec explains of the concept’s new kidneys.

The kidney grille and air intake ‘grates’ even have little 4s all joined together, while that contoured bonnet is said to cradle the new nose “like a gemstone”. Right.

Headlights? Slim, angular and quite angry. There’s no glass cover here, because it’s a concept, so instead BMW has cooked up 3D sculptures. Saying that, the actual profile and bulk of the car isn’t too bad: short overhangs, a low, flowing roofline that kicks up into a lovely integrated wing at the back, flared arches and a nice, clean rear end framed by a pair of tailpipes.

There’s no mention of actual propulsion, but one thing BMW tends to get right is engine tech. We’d expect both rear- and four-wheel-drive, and a range of four cylinder and straight six petrol and diesel engines. And electricity. If the concept looks like this, the pinnacle of the range – the next M4 – will be stratospherically angry.

The wing mirrors are suitably next-generation, the wheels as big as you like – 21in dishes in a five spoke – while the whole thing sits hunched forward and low. Because Driving.

Which brings us back to the grille, and BMW’s history of punchy coupes. “It’s form and design,” BMW says of the nose, “reference legendary classics such as the BMW 328 or the BMW 3.0 CSI and therefore shine the spotlight on the BMW brand’s long and successful history as a maker of fine coupes.”

Interestingly, BMW’s only front-on picture of the Concept 4 is the dimmed one you see above. Make of that what you will.