Not the face, right? Actually, yeah – right in the face.

SHOCKED? You shouldn’t be – BMW has been preparing the market for the radical new nose design that debuts on the new Four Series for some time now (last year’s Concept 4 show car being a particularly strong enforcement of intent).

Even so, there’s bound to be a lot of fresh comment in reaction to the new ‘uber’ approach that is sure to spread across the entire family and presents as a differentiation from the rapid re-scaling project that, having already delivered wider grilles, is now seemingly into a new phase of making them much taller.

This, plus headlights in a particularly slanted design, will certainly ensure the Four will stand out all the more from its Three Series sedan and wagon stablemates, potentially to the point of leaving impression that it’s something more than what it’s always been: The coupe in that family.

Officially unveiled today, about 36 hours after images leaked on-line, the new model is set to reach New Zealand in October, with 30i and M440i variants initially incoming, but assuredly followed in time by an M4 of course. Pricing and local specs will be announced closer to launch.

In respect to the look – since, you know, it’s going to fixate everyone for a while - it’s only fair to point out that the styling exercise goes beyond the nose. The whole car is 13 centimetres longer than the old coupe, with a wheelbase 4cm longer, and eclipses the Three sedan’s length by 5.5cm. It's also a touch wider than before. Regardless, it’s also more aerodynamic, dropping from 0.29 Cd to 0.25.

In respect to those engine, the car has the single-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder and 3.0-litre six from the Three. Tht meansa the 420i delivering 135kW/ 300Nm and the M440i packing 285kW/ 500Nm. The latter’s engine also makes use of a 48-volt starter/generator hybrid assist system. It produces around 8kW as needed, and allows for the start-stop system to activate when decelerating.

Like the Three Series, the Four also drops the manual transmission altogether, so everything has an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The M440i xDrive is a clutch-operated all-wheel-drive system that can send all power to the rear wheels only when conditions permit.

The M440i also takes other performance goodies such as the M Sport electronically controlled limited-slip differential, M Sport suspension and variable steering assist, and upgraded brakes with four-piston front calipers. It can also be fitted with the adaptive M Sport Suspension that can be adjusted for sporty stiffness or softer comfort. Exterior accents in Cerium Grey form a further identifying feature of BMW M440i xDrive while an M Carbon exterior package can also be optioned to add a motorsport-inspired aesthetic.

Design change is less extreme on the inside, with few extreme curves or angles. Standard equipment features an 8.8-inch infotainment screen and a 5.1-inch screen nestled between physical gauges in the instrument panel, but a 10.25-inch instrument display is optional, as is a 12.3-inch infotainment screen.

A sunroof and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard, too, along with a host of safety features including blind-spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian recognition, automatic high-beam headlights and lane-departure warning. Adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist and parking cameras and sensors are optional.Full-LED headlights with high beam assistant are fitted as standard, while adaptive LED headlights with BMW Laserlight are available as an option.

BMW NZ is also promising local cars will have Remote Software Upgrade, which enables improved vehicle functions, the ability to update the vehicle software and additional digital services to be imported over the air.