Headlamps are an integral part of automotive history. Right from the start, we've had to find ways of finding our way in the dark. More than their lighting function, they are the styling element on which we first look. After half a century dominated by halogen and then xenon headlamps, the advent of LED technology has spawned a stylistic revolution. Philippe Poilâne, Head of Lighting and Wheels Design at PEUGEOT, takes a look back at this revolution.

LED supremacy didn't happen overnight at PEUGEOT. At first, they were used for signalling purposes, as in the rear lights of the 2003 307 CC, the first lion to be equipped with LEDs. It took another ten years for the second-generation 308 to be fitted with real headlamps. The impact of this technology can be seen in the transformation of PEUGEOT's Lighting department. From an ultra-small team, a dozen people now work with Philippe Poilâne to create ever more spectacular lighting signatures.

A recent Arts Déco graduate, she joined the automotive sector in 2015 with her first position as CMF designer for a supplier, which designs and manufactures complete modular interior systems. "When I joined the automotive industry, I was like a child, says Maud Rondot. It's a sector that offers a wide variety of transformation processes and materials, from soft to hard materials... Working for a supplier allowed me to discover the industry from the ground up, to understand how everything worked. I had to adapt a lot, but if you love your job, you can adapt very quickly." As the first CMF in the supplier's design department, she learned to develop strategies. "What interested me most were research, processes, materials and how to orchestrate all that to create a unique experience." In 2019, she joins the Peugeot teams as Project Manager in the CMF design department.

This is where the LED has had the greatest influence. The miniaturization of the diode gives designers the freedom to create complex shapes, whereas halogen confined them to simpler headlamp units. LED sources are arranged along the desired light shape, extending right up to the radiator grille. The Fractal and Instinct concept cars, revealed in 2015 and 2017 respectively, perfectly illustrate this unprecedented field of possibilities. And since every PEUGEOT must be instantly recognizable, day or night, the company's designers have updated the famous three-claw signature that first appeared on the headlamps of the legendary 504 Coupé.

For the past ten years, it has been used on the rear of PEUGEOT models, as well as on the fronts of the latest generations: the 208, the E-208 , the 508  and the new E-3008.  A decade during which the three claws have entered the collective memory of motorists. 

The E-3008 takes design to a new level. The designer's signature, symbolized by the three-claw light signature, has been blended into the radiator grille without any delimitation, creating an unprecedented look. A challenge for Philippe Poilâne's teams, who had to find the right synthesis between these two very different elements, characteristic of the SUV's front end. The SUV also features intelligent Pixel LED technology, capable of constantly projecting the brightest available beam of light without dazzling other road users. In other words, you can stay in full headlight whatever the conditions - the car takes care of everything. A feat made possible by the presence of 22 totally independent Pixels (each representing an LED) per headlamp. While this technological advance has no impact on headlamp design, according to Philippe Poilâne, we are far from having explored all the possibilities offered by LEDs. The future looks bright!