Here Are The Pop Up Headlights You Forgot About

Model year: 1969 - 1975

The first car with hidden headlights was the Cord 810 from the 1930s, but the first car on our list is the Maserati Indy from 1969. Built as a four-seat alternative to the original Ghibli, the Indy came with a V8 motor and a five-speed manual.

Model year: 1970 - 1974

The Saab Sonett III is a real chunk of 1970s design and came with manually-operated hidden headlamps up front. Behind those lamps, the Sonett III was powered by the V4 engine from a Ford Taurus, which produced just 65 hp.

Model year: 1972 - 1982

The final Fiat to roll off the production line with pop-up lights was the X1/9, which was produced until 1982. Just the second car from the Italian brand to feature the distinctive lights, more than 100,000 examples of the X1/9 were built by Fiat before it bit the dust.

Model year: 1979 - 1984

Unveiled at the London Motor Show in 1973, the AC 3000ME was one of the earliest British cars to get pop-up lights — after the Lotus Elan, of course. The car was based on designs from Peter Bohanna, who helped design to Lola T70.

Model year: 1980 - 1983

With all its Formula 1 knowhow from the 1970s and 1980s, French outfit Matra built this: the mid-engined Murena. The three-door hatch was penned by Greek designer Antonis Volanis who later found fame with his design for the Renault Espace.

Model year: 1982 - 1990

Back in the 1980s, Mitsubishi made more than just over-sized SUVs. It made sports cars like the Starion instead. For eight years, this angular two-door proudly rode around town with its pop-up headlights gleaming. It was also sold in the U.S. as the Chrysler Conquest, Dodge Conquest and Plymouth Conquest.

Model year: 1982 - 1992

Sure, the Elan is the Lotus you all remember for having pop-up headlights, but it wasn’t the British sports car makers only model. In the 1980s Lotus shipped the Excel, which was actually manufactured using a large number of components from Toyota — a shareholder at the time.

Model year: 1983 - 1989

Fellow Brit TVR has also been a proponent of hidden headlamps, with the design appearing on seven of its cars over the years. Based on the Tasmin, TVR’s first car with pop-up lights, the 350i added a Rover V8 that packed 190 hp and could get the car from zero to 60 in 6.3 seconds.

Model year: 1985 - 1991

Subaru’s only car with pop-up lights was another child of the ‘80s. Offered for less than ten years, Subaru built nearly 100,000 XT coupes, which could be ordered with 1.8- or 2.7-liter engines.

Model year: 1986 - 1991

A real rarity among hidden headlamp cars is the Hofstetter Turbo, of which fewer than 20 were built over its five-year run. With its fiberglass body, gull-wing doors and pop-up headlamps, the car was Brazil’s answer to things like the Ferrari 328 and Lamborghini Jalpa that were on sale at the time.

Model year: 1986 - 1990

When it launched in 1985, the Ginetta G27 was a hodgpodge of parts from other cars. The two-seater came with the front suspension from an old Triumph, rear suspension from a Jaguar and a range of engines including a Rover V8. Still, it had pop-up headlamps so it must have been cool.

Model year: 1985 - 1989

One of the more sensible cars to be fitted with hidden headlamps is the Honda Vigor, which made it to America as the Acura Vigor. However, the model that came stateside was the third-generation, which was one year too late to get its hidden headlamps int he U.S.

Model year: 1988 - 1991

Another pop-up model we got in America is the Reatta from Buick, which was sold between 1988 and 1991. Just 21,000 Reattas were built during that time, each fitted with a 3.8-liter V6 motor.

Model year: 1991 - 1995

By the 1990s, pop-up lights were losing favor, but some models kept fighting the good fight. One such car was the Alpine A610, a two-door coupe that was even used during the 1992 Winter Olympic Games to ferry VIPs around Albertville, France.

Model year: 1991 - 2003

In the 1990s, the Cizeta-Moroder V16T proved one thing: you can never have too much of a good thing. With two rows of pop up lights, this Giorgio Moroder-backed supercar was one of the final few models to keep the pop-up headlight flag flying into the 2000s.