Nostalgia has become the true fuel in the car market. The scamoteable headlights are the last test

There was a day that the headlights were hidden in cars. Deportivo, sharp nose … and some headlights that completely broke the front of the vehicle with two huge bulbs to illuminate what was in front. The Ferrari F40, the Lamborghini Countachhe BMW M1 or the most earthly first Mazda MX-5.

There are many examples of all kinds. Some of them extremely shocking such as the Porsche 911 Flatnose. Because yes, Porsche came to offer as extra equipment the sneakable headlights In its most iconic sports car, which some sacrilege will seem to some. And what do we say about Carlos Sainz flying along the sofari rally slopes In Kenia aboard his Toyota Celica?

And although when we think of scamotable headlights we look almost automatically at the 80s and 90s, it is a much older invention. It is considered that The Cord 80 was the first car that he used this formula in the United States in 1935. Shortly after, in 1936 he would arrive in Europe with the beautiful Alfa Romeo 8C (attentive to this miniature If you are thinking of spending more than 20,000 euros on one of them).

Regardless of where we place its origin, the usual as we said is to think in the decade of the 80s and the 90s when we talk about this lighting system. And how everything comes back: are the sneakable headlights back?

They come back … more or less

Shanghai 2025, MG presents the Cyber ​​X Concept. The prototype is, in the words of the Chinese company, a “global urban adventure toy.” What our eyes see is an extraordinarily square SUV to generate that aspect of hard off -road. Of course, nothing similar to Joseph Kaban Bugatti Veyron, designer of both products.

But, beyond this curiosity … What appears on the front? Yes, small and fine sneaky headlights. With two LED squares in each of them, the Cyber ​​X Concept look is projected through some that hide in the body “as a nod to the classics,” they mention in the brand.

Interestingly, it is not the only prototype that has opted for this formula in recent years or months. Mazda presented the IConic SP at the 2023 Tokyo Salon. There they revealed the prototype of a sports car Halfway between Mazda MX-5 and RX-7. What had both models in common? Yes, the sneakable headlights. At least in the First generation of the mythical Miata.

With its rounded and fluid forms, Mazda advanced its concept of what its Sports of the future. An extended rank electric that was projected towards the past with A rotating engine to act as a generator And, in addition, with scamotable headlights that make you drool when you see the figure of the car.

The last great manufacturer that has presented his proposal of scamoteable headlights was Honda. In the past CES of January, the company presumed two electrical prototypes that advance the formula of its future models. It was what the company called Honda 0 series.

The formula was striking because it recovered the flat and acute forms of wedge -shaped eighties. According to the brand, it was “applying the thin, light and wise approach to a SUV.” It was promised that an evolution will be seen in the US market in 2026 and, later, in Japan and Europe.

But another thing that caught the attention were the headlights of his front. Their light groups were hidden under a small retractable tab They closed to leave a clean hood and retracted to illuminate what you have ahead. A more logical and realistic solution than those of Mazda and Mg.

Because the problem of retractable headlights are safety regulations. In fact, although they disappeared for them, they were also the main reason why they became popular. They explain in Diariomotor that in the United States was forced to take the headlights at a minimum height to the ground. The solution went to use these retractable headlights that allowed the height of the headlights to be raised without compromising a front of the front. To this was added the fashion of playing with this device, popularizing in the 80s.

But after this fever, that bump when the headlights were deployed was gradually disappearing. A sum of small details ended up killing them inside the industry. First of all for something very simple: the sneakable headlights are a headache. Compared to a traditional optical group, the lighthouse must have a small electric motor, which makes the frontal and more susceptible to breakdowns more complex.

The second is that, although closed the car could significantly increase its aerodynamic performance, deployed were a disaster in this regard. Of course, the solution of a lighthouse wall on the front of the vehicle does not seem the best solution.

Finally, in the early 2000s, special attention began to be paid to the consequences of the outrage of a pedestrian. Obviously, two huge flat, sharp and outstanding surfaces In the body they were not going to deliver the best results, so he discouraged the manufacturer to set up a component that was already beginning to go down in history.

Today, in this Revival That we live in the automotive market, up to three manufacturers have recently presented prototypes with sneaking headlights in recent months. Will we see them again? I say, hopefully. As long as he was not hit by one of them.

Photo | MG and MAZDA

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