The BEV era doesn’t loom quite as large as it once did in the automobile’s near future, but the age of lithium is surely still on its way. And with the demise of fuel-burning engines as the preferred motivator for personal transportation, we can reasonably expect two once-omnipresent styling elements to go the way of the dodo: all manner of flourishes meant to highlight exhaust pipe(s), and atmosphere-admitting grilles substantial enough to feed four or more cylinders the air they need to keep internal combustion internally combusting.
And so, it makes sense that we pause to appreciate the great grilles that have come and gone (or are doing their thing right now) so fuel-burners could breathe easy while imparting a huge amount of personality and differentiation to the car-faces we all love so much.
When I put the greatest-grilles question to the gang, David was quick to reply with a true classic, an all-time all-timer when it comes to front-end fortitude:
Even the most casual car observer will recognize the iconic seven-slot mug as the exclusive look of a Jeep, especially when the slots are surrounded by slice-of-bread-shaped sheet metal. 
Photo: Classic Auto MallOur beloved The Bishop chimed in with a shout-out for the Daystar motorhome. “Somebody made a vehicle that looks like a Calico Critters toy scaled up to life-sized and then decided to make the grille even stranger. That’s total commitment there.” Agreed!
I’m partial to waterfalls of all varieties, for no other reason than they just look neat – consider the 1975 Imperial LeBaron Crown Coupe below, for example. Try not to think about how crap these things looked a few years down the road as the chrome rusted and the crisp verticals went askew and the front end became snaggletoothed, just soak in the fresh-off-the-floor enegy.
Oh, and the Fisker Karma in the top graphic? I just like that the grille makes the car looks like it has a jaunty mustache … or is Jet Jaguar in car form, like a bananas Toho Transformer. Either. Both.
You tell us: What Are The Greatest Grilles? See you in the comments!
Top graphic image: Fisker
I say the Citroen Traction Avant. What part of the double chevron do you fail to understand? It is iconic.
The chrome fine-line BMW grille, seen here on a 1968 1600: https://classicmotorsports.com/articles/subtle-upgrades-make-bmw-1600-sing/
The forward control pre-war Auto Union grand prix cars:
https://cdn-thumbs.ohmyprints.net/1/78dbc2960e4ddf6c7a14bc996d9b3d09/1000×1000/customer-preview/fit/09459ad890ddffce1c3536aae63d4f18e4fdd4635dbe0e99dc70b083db5ddad8.jpg
The late-’50’s Mercedes SL, even if it’s not on a 300SL gullwing:
https://dealeraccelerate-all.s3.amazonaws.com/fusion/images/2/1/7/217/7399_4f3125fd3f479b4a8694.jpg
And one that stands out even next to Bugattis, the 1938 Peugeot Darl’mat Le Mans Racer:
https://simeonemuseum.org/collection/1938-peugeot-darlmat-le-mans-racer/#foogallery-10083937/i:2
’95 Ford Escort GT.
The complete asymmetry of it all is both completely 1990s and somehow still from the not too distant future.
There was a guy named Torch
Not too different from you or me
He worked at the old lighting site
Just another guy who like tail lights
I’ll stop now
The Big Green Egg grille is pretty good, honestly. It’s a classic suburban backyard staple.
*rimshot*
There are some really good suggestions in the comments, so I’m going to throw out an all-time favorite of mine: GMT400 Silverado and Sierra.
That was a handsome grill. And the headlights they did in those really integrated well. My Peugeot 504 looked nice, but much better with the angular halogen headlights available pretty much everywhere but the US.
Ah, the 504 was certainly better looking with the non-sealed beam headlights. It was a lot like my dad’s gray market German cars, in that in a vacuum the sealed beams were fine, but as soon as you knew what you were missing the sealed beams were just the worst.
The only advantage of sealed beams is that they don’t become unobtanium when a car goes out of production or changes styling. For example, the only place I would be able to get a replacement headlight assembly for an ’88 SAAB 9000 is a wrecking yard.
Good point, though even then some of those sealed beams are getting hard to find these days too. My dad had a gray market Mercedes where it was hard to find replacement high beams for 25 years ago. It used a non-standard size and plug, at least according to the parts stores, so we ended up replacing the plug to use a slightly smaller light and then an adapter so the light would stay captive inside the aiming ring.
77 Trans Am
Duh
https://www.reddit.com/r/mercedes_benz/comments/15kxoh4/r107_grill/#lightbox
Mercury Topaz (I think? Or sable? The asymmetrical one)
Ford Edsel
Pontiac Solstice
Maybe 1991 Ford escort gt?
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a62762434/1991-ford-escort-gt-archive-test/
Topaz and Sable iirc are all symmetrical.
In my head I imagined a nonexistent mix of that escort GT and the light-up Mercury Sable.
I also posted the Escort GT’s – such a wonderful oddity in car design. The back end, though much more normal, looked good too.
68-69 GTO or 68-73 (I think that is when they went to) Charger with the hidden vacuum headlights that match the grill when they are shut. Also do the 77-78 Firebirds/Trans Am’s headlight grill things count?
Maybe I’m alone but the mercury light up grills were nice.
2nd gen SHO is as close as I owned though. Sable from the firewall forward, it had little things to bridge the headlights to the bumper cover, but no lights in them.
OK, had a topaz but the grill was a future feature that was unlit. I had a black grill that was mostly vertical slats.
Fun fact – about the last place to see one in all its light bar glory is the movie Coneheads. Beldar has one as his drivers ed car, and there’s a scene at the end at night where it’s properly (and fully) illuminated. Movie magic and all.
71 Fury with the covered headlights
There’s so many, it’s hard to choose just one. If I was choosing one, it would be the 7 Slot Jeep grill.
Slightly unrelated- the top shot of the Fisker Karma reminded me that it is one of the sexiest cars around. Fisker seems to be a pile of trash, but I’ll be damned if he didn’t create a good looking car.
Mark 1 MGB is pretty darn classic.
Fake Bentley grille on a Chrysler 300.
Fake Rolls front end on a Beetle.
What looks like a fake Jaguar grill on a Austin Allegro, but was actually sold as a Vanden Plas 1500.
I thought it was a joke when I first saw one.
Tommy Chong went one better and used a real RR grill in one of his movies.
Rolls Royce, It really does the business. When anybody says the name, you see the grille in your mind.
I’m pretty fond of my Weber Genesis II
nice grill, but honestly, I’ve long felt that you don’t need much more than a Weber kettle and a bag of charcoal.
True for those lazy weekends but the gas is so much more convenient on a weeknight after work or a day full of kids activities.
I found I have a lot fewer reasons not to grill once I got a gas grill.
oh, I agree! (That said my work schedule the last few years affords me the extra time to mess around with charcoal). I kind of want a blackstone, but can’t justify the cost.
my folks had a gas grill for a few years, and for some reason my dad-who is a damn fine cook-couldn’t get to grips with it. Never quite got the hang of preheating it correctly or cooking times, whereas he could fire up a charcoal grill and cook just about anything on it while simultaneously cooking a couple of sides in the kitchen and playing a game of Parcheesi with us kids. He also hated the fact that you can’t (or shouldn’t) have a spare tank in the garage, and ran out of gas a few times.
Has to be Jeep. It’s literally the alternate brand logo.
Tesla also should get a nod here. The anti-grille, a very distinctive nose defined by the lack of an obvious grille.
BMW E24 6-series. Peak sharknose.
Well I am forced by association to totally agree… and not to jump on the already full Tesla haters, but that grill/anti-grille always struck me as lazy design not mention it must be a real bug catcher.. (noting that I JUST finished cleaning all the bugs off the front of my e24 M6 just back from the Vintage)
YES
ALL of the BMWs from the 70s to the advent of the Bucky Beaver nonsense are iconic.
Especially the first generation 6 series coupes.
I can’t disagree with that that – though IMHO E9s are even better.
https://www.motortrend.com/vehicle-genres/1973-bmw-30-cs-rewind-review
Maserati Gran Coupe. And Viper
Bugatti Type 35 where the shape of the grille (I.e. the radiator) was form and function.
Austin Healey Sprite
The grill on the 1958 Buicks has always amazed me – it’s made up of what appears to be roughly 1,000 floating squares of chrome, all waiting to be polished:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29580368@N03/4962382184
And then KIA ripped them off.
I’m biased having owned a couple of Alfas, I owned GTV’s, but picked this one to link
https://mariosueiras.com/1961-alfa-romeo-giulietta-ss/
Tesla Model 3, as in none. It doesn’t need one, and casts aside the pretense.
I mean the old F-Bodies made do with little to no grill to speak of too, so the does not need one argument is kind of moot. And the tesla looks like pouting porpoise. with Fake Eyebrows? and per your description a fake mouth, but it still has a small grill down there in the end. Gotta get some air in there for something it seems.
Inverter and brake rotors.
Its vent is located in the high pressure zone/stagnation point of the airflow which can help reduce drag.
I think the first 911, and the Studebaker Avanti tie for the no grill needed no grill given look.
VW did the no-grille thing far better with the MKIII Passat (the first one sold in the US as a Passat).
https://petrolblog.com/articles/passat-gt-16v
I have always really liked the look of these. The days when cars had bumpers and bodyside mouldings too.
Aston Martin Vantage
I mean the Jeep Grill is just the retro Bronco Grill, except it never really became retro as it never went away and came back.
My two favorites are the 65 Riviera and the 1978 Trans Am, but both are more for the memberberries from movies they were attached to.
I would say by virtue of just how many copies/variations of the grill I still see floating around, the Aston Martin GRRR Grill design is probably one of the best over time.