January 2008
Lighting Design: The Car’s Eyes
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Slim and horizontal: Opel’s newest lighting design trend
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Night design and daytime running lamps: Unmistakable at any time of day
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History: Headlamps as design elements
Headlamps are a typical example of how a purely functional detail in the
automobile’s design development can gradually become a styling element –
and how such a technical development gives designers greater creative
freedom. “The trend is very similar to that of computers or consumer
electronics,” explains Malcolm Ward, Chief Designer of Opel’s new mid-size
class. “Smaller is more elegant, and instead of overly intricate detailing, we’re
going for refined simplicity.”
With the upcoming Insignia, Opel designers continue to cultivate a style that
has long influenced the brand’s design: the front lighting unit is slim and
horizontal. The high-beam reflector also has a well-defined rectangular form.
The headlamps themselves are pushed far out to the sides to create space for a
prominent radiator grille and to give the vehicle’s front section a flat, wide
appearance.
The headlamp unit’s upper edge is smoothly rounded, emphasizing the typical
Opel line that arcs upwards and outwards from the lowest point at the center
of the vehicle’s front. The entire headlamp unit is three-dimensional, which
echoes the style that is instantly recognizable in the current Astra and Corsa
models. The advantage, explains Ward, is that “the front overhang seems less
Information concerning specifications and equipment applies to the models offered in Germany. There may be differences in other
markets. All data on fuel consumption refers to combined fuel consumption of the base model in the European test cycle. Subject to
alteration.
Adam Opel GmbH
D-65423 Rüsselsheim
http://media.opel.com
General Motors Corporation
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overpowering, because in side profile, the large fender panel surface is
interrupted by the headlamp.”
All Opel models in the coming years will feature the special, completely new
and distinctive daylight running lamp design. It gives Opel cars an
unmistakable look, even at night when used as a parking light. In house, this
lamp shape is called the “OK checkmark”. For the first time, xenon lighting is
combined with LED lights, which have an even brighter beam yet require less
electricity than conventional incandescent bulbs. But it is not just in rear-view
mirrors that future Opels will be instantly recognizable: the rear lighting units
also feature the checkmark shape as an identifying characteristic.
Lighting design also has an increasingly important function in the interior. A
good example is the current Corsa, whose striking new details include refined,
backlit air conditioning, radio and light knobs that create a warm and inviting
atmosphere. The Cosmo and Sport variants feature additional translucent
control elements when fitted with the Lighting package (reading lights,
footwell illumination). The warm, lively red that illuminates the instruments
also played an important role in the GTC Coupé concept car, which was
unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2007. The lighting in the GTC Coupé,
whose styling provided a look ahead to the Opel Insignia’s design language,
gave the interior more character and emotionality. The four round cockpit
instruments are encircled by transparent rings, which are backlit in red to
look like tunnels. The designers produced a similar effect for the double DINformat infotainment unit by also backlighting the system’s U-shaped bordering
in red.
Circular becomes rectangular: First major step came in 1964
With its flat, slim headlamps, the Insignia is the current highlight of Opel’s
design development that began in the 1960s. This was the first time that
technology enabled reflectors to be rectangular. Opel quickly seized upon this
new design style and became a trend pioneer with the Kapitän, which together
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with its Admiral and Diplomat sister models sported a flat, wide look with
rectangular headlamps in 1964. In the second update to the large Opel range in
1969, designers used headlamps to differentiate between models: Kapitän and
Admiral retained their horizontal headlamps, while the flagship Diplomat had
vertical lighting units.
The three trademark cars made a strong impact on future Opel headlamp
design: Rekord B, C and D were recognizable by their horizontal headlamps for
years, while the Kadett, Ascona and Corsa A were also fitted with square
headlamp units.
In the Manta B – a true design icon of its time - the headlamp shape was
especially prominent, protruding past the pronounced fender edge.
The next step came with the Senator in 1982. This lighting design would shape
the Opel vehicle face for years to come, and feature in the Rekord E, Kadett E,
Omega and Vectra. The headlamps were no longer strictly geometric, instead
boasting a curved inner side.
From two to three dimensions: Between Calibra and Astra
Lighting units were becoming increasingly flatter – a trend that the 1989
Calibra, with its new technology, made such a great success. Used for the first
time, the projector headlamps allowed extremely thin light slits to be fitted for
that time, emphasizing the coupé’s sporty look.
Opel design took a completely new direction with the Astra in 1998. For the
first time, the front of the headlamps was three dimensional and thereby also
became part of the vehicle’s body design. In the current Astra (since 2004),
the headlamp design tapered far into the side of the car’s body reinforces the
model’s compact look. The Astra was the first Opel in which designers crafted
both the outer form of the lighting unit and its inner layout. The facets
incorporated into the car’s body and the interesting technical details highlight
the exciting enhancement to Opel’s design language. Just like the headlamps,
the large rear lights reflect the designer’s passion for detail and technology.
For the first time in series production, the upper section of the Astra’s rear
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lights boasts innovative translucent technology. This special light diffusion
makes every five-door Opel Astra unmistakable even at night, and was the first
step toward a night design.
Opel has been at the forefront of headlamp design right from the very
beginning. The legendary 1938 Kapitän was one of the first cars to start the
breakaway from round front lamps. The large Opel’s headlamps were fully
integrated into the fender in an art
deco-style hexagonal unit.
For many years before, headlamps were round and placed like ornaments in
polished brass housings. Then in the 1930s, designers realized that they could
create a brand face with the headlamp layout.
Peugeot moved their headlamps inward and put them behind the radiator
grille. Cord went one step further, fitting its 1936 812 luxury car with the first
pop-up headlamps.
GM’s Buick brand took this idea with Harvey Earl’s Y-Job – the first-ever
concept car – and enhanced it. The Y-Job featured the world’s first
automatically controlled pop-up headlamps. This innovation arrived in Europe
in 1968 with the Opel GT.
Contact:
Jean-Philippe Kempf
06142-7-
66651
Text and photos can be downloaded from the Internet at http://media.opel.com.