Unforgettable pop-up headlights
11/17/2012
Folding headlights were a standard feature for sports car manufacturers in the seventies. They allowed a flat and aerodynamically advantageous front design and elegant lines at the same time. Vehicles such as the Maserati Ghibli, the Lamborghini Countachor the Ferrari 512 BBare examples from this period. Extendable lights were particularly popular in the wedge-shaped era.
However, retractable headlights were used for the first time in the 1930s, when Cord installed retractable headlights in the 810/812 model , which were originally intended as retractable landing lights.
In the post-war years, hinged headlights appeared on various small-series models, such as the Siata 208 CS.
It was not until the 1960s that a real boom set in and the swing-out headlights also conquered the mass market. The Oldsmobile Toronadohad particularly impressive sleeping eyes (see picture above).
Opel 's GT model was probably the only vehicle with headlights that rolled out lengthways to the vehicle axle. They were operated by hand lever and muscle power.
Lamborghini Miuraand Porsche 928had folding headlights, which were also visible when the car was stationary, as they folded forwards instead of upwards.
Aston Martin also had to resort to folding headlights on the Lagonda, probably because it was not possible to install the main headlights high enough to comply with the law without this design, given the very wedge-shaped and low-set snout.
Claudio Zampolli went one step further with his Cizeta V16T. The car designed by Gandini had four fold-out headlights.
Increasing requirements regarding pedestrian protection, disadvantages in aerodynamics and developments in headlight technology, which allowed for smaller and more versatile light sources, put an end to the folding headlights in the early years of the new millennium.
