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it's there to add structural support for that big gap. remove it and things start sagging. Besides, it's hardly noticeable and looks much better than the AP2's criss cross design.
I purchased my AP1 with the top portion of the grill removed.. didnt see much of a difference in the structural support, but I think it looks better than the regular 2-row plastic grill.. you can't tell in the pic anyway, but heres how it looked when the car was stock with an OEM front lip.