Car & Truck Grilles

In automotive engineering, a grille is an opening in the bodywork of a vehicle to allow air to enter. Most vehicles feature a grille at the front of the vehicle to allow air to flow over the radiator and cool the engine compartment. Other common grille locations include below the front bumper, in front of the wheels (to cool the brakes), in the cowl for cabin ventilation, or on the rear deck lid (in rear engine vehicles).

The grille is often a distinctive styling element, and many marques use it as their primary brand identifier. For example, Jeep has trademarked its seven-bar grille style. [1] Rolls-Royce is famous for arranging its grille bars by hand to ensure that they appear perfectly vertical. Other makers known for their grille styling include Bugatti's horse-collar, BMW's split kidney, Dodge's cross bar, Alfa Romeo's 6-bar shield, Volvo's slash bar, and Audi's relatively new, so-called single-frame grille. The unusual 1971 Plymouth Barracuda grille is known as a cheesegrater.

A billet grille is an aftermarket part that is used to enhance the style or function of the original OEM grille. They are generally made from billet, solid bar stock aircraft grade aluminum or stainless steel, although some are CNC Machined from one solid sheet of aluminum.