The advent of LED and even laser-powered headlights has opened up the possibilities for what automakers can do with headlights. On a functional level, matrix headlights improve visibility and reduce glare. On an aesthetic level, automakers are adding uniquely designed and animated running lights and taillights. This may just be the start, as a reliable poster on the Bimmerpost forums reports BMW will start playing with colors in headlights. It sounds interesting, but also will surely have regulatory limits.
BMW
BMW is a German luxury car and motorbike manufacturer and current owner of Mini, Rolls-Royce, and Alpina. With roots dating back to 1913 as Rapp Motorenwerke, it officially became Bayerische Motoren Werke in 1922 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines. BMW’s first car was built in 1928 when it built the Austin 7 under license from Dixi, which was called the BMW 3/15. BMW grew into a manufacturer of premium and luxury automobiles, launching iconic nameplates like the 3 Series, 5 Series, and 7 Series, and is today known as one of the leading luxury automakers in the world, while the BMW M division is hailed as a leading manufacturer of performance cars.
- Founded
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1916
- Founder
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Karl Rapp
- Headquarters
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Munich, Germany
- Owned By
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Publicly Traded
- Current CEO
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Oliver Zipse
We’ll See It On Next-Generation 3 Series and X5
The new report was spotted by BMWBlog, and it was posted by forum user “ynguldyn,” who has a strong reputation for accurate BMW leaks. According to the post, BMW will give M Sport versions of cars’ headlights with “distinctive color elements.” Additionally, the first cars that will receive them will be the new BMW 3 Series and X5 models. According to BMWBlog, the X5 will likely enter production next year first, with the 3 Series following a few months after. As a refresher, the M Sport versions of BMWs are models that get sportier bodywork and suspension. Many of these parts are also applied to BMW’s M Performance vehicles, which feature the most powerful engines and other performance upgrades, but aren’t quite at the level of a full model. These are identified by the M prefix followed by the model and engine size, such as the M340i. So it seems likely these headlights will appear on base models with M Sport packages, and M Performance models.
BMW Can Only Be So Creative
There isn’t really anything technical that would prevent BMW from offering all kinds of wild looking headlight colors. Multicolored LED lights are cheap and plentiful nowadays. But of course, every country has rules about what colors automotive lighting can be. Broadly speaking, white is for the headlights, amber is for turn signals, and red is for taillights and brake lights. This is for safety reasons, because people need to know what end of the car they’re looking at. But there is some wiggle room. What we’re expecting, are yellow-ish daytime running lights for the M Sport models. BMW has already played with this idea, most notably on the BMW M8 Gran Coupe and M5 CS. It had yellow running lights that were striking against the car’s green paint scheme. The yellow color also shouldn’t run afoul of lighting regulations.
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BMWBlog suggests that BMW could even illuminate running lights in the colors of the M logo: blue, indigo, and red. This is a neat idea, but seems far less likely to happen. One way BMW could do it, though, would be to have the running lights illuminate in those colors when the owner approaches the vehicle. Many automakers have implemented running light animation patterns that activate when it detects the key approaching the car. As long as the running lights switch back to white when the car is running, there shouldn’t be any problems. Though, we’re still betting on the yellow light idea.
Source: Bimmerpost via BMWBlog
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