Headlights have come a long way in the past century. We went from lantern style oil lamps hung from the hinges of the roof. To spotlight style rounded vintage lamps of the early 30s saloons. To early integrated incandescent lamps of the 50s that became the precursor of the modern halogens.

Today, we have moved even beyond halogen, to individual LEDs and Matrix clusters setups. That simplify the design exponentially by bypassing all wasteful chemical processes, and going straight to electroluminescence. This has drastically reduced the wastage in terms of both energy and heat.

By eliminating the heat waste, you can go for smaller bulbs, with smaller heat syncs, and more tightly integrated components. An adjacent benefit of having such minimal area requirements and thermal output. Is that you can now reduce the size of the large bulky housings themselves. That were initially required to properly dissipate that excess heat.

All these innovations in design and engineering have radically freed up car manufacturers. In terms of design choices, as now, you can get better performance and more useful light output from a smaller module. Thus, you can either go for a single individual light, or even a whole bunch of them, without having to stick to any traditional shapes. Since reflectors don’t need to play that big a role in focusing the comparatively low lumen output of halogen lamps.

As a result, we are seeing newer models featuring unique lighting configurations. From a single straight LED bar running across the whole front and/or back. To individual LED clusters snugly fitted into complicated patterns cut into the body. This means that companies can now offer more variation in the lighting design, to make newer models seem more futuristic. Even if they offer no such advancements beneath the hood.

Since modern LEDs also have the ability to change colors, the input of the lighting system in the overall style, look, and feel of the vehicle has also increased drastically. As you can now use integrated interior lights, and even colored headlight LED bulbs, to change the theme of the vehicle with a click of a button.

All this means that the concept of synced lighting has we used to see in older video games of the early 2000s. Can now be a reality, at a very affordable rate. Thanks to brands like OSRAM, which offer both interior and exterior LED lights. That feature integrated control boards for wireless modularity on the go.

Even if you don’t place a lot of stock into design and color choices. There is still much to rejoice about modern LED lighting. Since, with each iteration, headlights have also become more reliable, powerful, and efficient. As new innovations in lighting and automotive technologies have begun to change each aspect of the headlight assembly.

So, you can get newer versions of various components, like caps, braces, bulbs, and even sockets. That can be retrofitted into existing vehicles, without actually changing the complete assembly. Thus, giving you the benefit of modern lighting, without the perception of any design change.

This kind of subtle modernization is great for restomod vintage vehicles, which is a popular category in today’s car culture. Amongst enthusiasts who you want the comforts and efficiencies of modern components, with the design and aesthetic of a more overtly beautiful era in automotive design. 

In addition to such experiments from OEM manufacturing and car companies, in regards to headlight shape, size, and placement. There are also various third-party manufacturers like OSRAM, who like to play with the possibilities within the constraints of a particular company’s design language.

You can even buy completely built out assemblies for front headlights as well as taillights. For various models across different brands, which contain all new components and design elements. That are completely different from the OEM interpretation.

Here are the few models that you can pick from so far, under the LEDriving banner from OSRAM:

(i) VW Golf VI Gen

(ii) VW Golf VII Gen

(iii) VW Golf VII Facelift

(iv) VW Amarock

(v) Ford Focus 3

(vi) Ford Fiesta MK7

(vii) BMW 1 Series

These assemblies would obviously void the warranty of the vehicle, so make sure you choose responsibly. However, this is less about the ability to modify the look of your car, and more about showcasing the future of automotive lighting. Only a handful of first adopters will be able to appreciate the value of such systems.

For the rest of the customers, who draw the line somewhere across a broad spectrum of car lighting upgrades, there are lots of other options to pick from. Through the ORIGINAL, XENARC, and LEDriving range of products from the brand. Make sure you take a look at all the options available, before you make a choice. As, we already alluded to in the title before, what you decide in terms of headlight shape, size, and placement have a direct effect on the lighting performance.