The '80s and '90s brought us many kitsch and grouse trends and fashions, none more so than pop-up headlights on cars.
While we remember them more during the 1980s and 1990s, pop-up or hidden headlights actually first appeared during the 1930s on the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A as well as on the Cord 810 and 812. To activate the headlights, you would need to manually turn a crank on each side of the dashboard to bring out the headlights when needed.
By 1938, GM presented the Buick Y-Job which was the world’s first concept car showing off new technologies and designs, complete with electric powered hidden headlights. It wasn’t until 1942 on the DeSoto (a former Chrysler brand) that electric pop-up headlights hit the mainstream. They were marketed at the time as “Air-Foil” lights; “Out of Sight Except at Night”.
Some trends and fashions last forever, while some fade away into obscurity. Let’s celebrate the quirky and if anything, unnecessary invention of the pop-up headlight craze with these six cars that wore this feature proudly and which you can buy on carsales.
Mazda MX-5
Of all the cars on this list, the first-gen Mazda MX-5 is probably the one you’re most likely to see on the roads today. It was a classic of ’90s sleek and simple design and the pop-up lights were certainly a standout design feature of the time. The eye-like lights teamed with a smile like air-intake gave the car a cute face with some owners taking things to the next level by customising the lights to wink!
BMW 8 Series
The BMW 8 Series E31 is a car of firsts. The first V12 engine with a 6-speed manual transmission on a road car, the first vehicle to be fitted with an electronic drive-by-wire throttle and one of BMW’s first cars to use a multi-link rear axle. It was the second production car from BMW to feature pop-up headlights, the first being the limited-production M1. As the flagship of the range and the hero of early ’90s technology, this was a big deal.
Porsche 928
The Porsche 928 had originally been planned as the replacement for the 911, as the company believed it had a much wider appeal thanks to its combination of power, sports car handling with the refinement, comfort and equipment of a luxury sedan. Its groundbreaking design, including the headlights, won praise from the industry with it taking out the 1978 European Car of the Year. The 928 is the only sports car to have won the coveted award. The car also starred in the film Risky Business with Tom Cruise.
Ferrari 456 GT
Ferrari was a very big fan of the pop-up headlight, with the unique feature appearing on over 12 models between 1966 and 2003. The Ferrari 456 GT was one of the last with the vehicle’s design itself a homage to the fabled 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” with the long bonnet and retractable headlights running into a setback cabin.
Chevrolet Corvette
During the ‘60s the headlight trend popped up again, finding its way onto the performance car classic, the Chevrolet Corvette, which utilised this system between 1964 and 2006. In the end, subsequent legislation changes to vehicle design and safety led to the demise of the pop-up headlight not only on the ‘vette but on cars across the board.
Toyota Celica
Toyotas during the late ’80s to early ’90s sure did have a bit more flare than those which followed into the 2000s. The Celica not only showed off its rally and racing credentials but had a lot of street cred with its affordable sports car positioning, sleek styling and renowned Toyota build quality and reliability.
Keyword: Six cars with pop-up headlights