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Next Generation Headlights?

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This is an interesting portion of the lower housing:

View attachment 73297

Yeah, that's the part that made me think maybe that whole subassembly can pivot. The OP said something about the fog lamps being blocked out, which means presumably the LED cornering lamps in that same housing were, too--that would be consistent with testing new lamps that swiveled based on steering angle.

That said, in other implementations of this tech (like on my Golf), the actual moving parts are pretty unobtrusive, so maybe this is just an engineering mule.
 
@OP... sorry if you've already said... quick scan didn't surface for me! These closeups don't really give whole story on aesthetics. Could you post your subjective impressions of how car looked with these headlights in whole... from say 20 or 50 feet away? Cool or geeky?
 
Regarding i8 headlights: based on the BMW configuration web page for the i8 the base version does not have LED headlights, they are part of all the four different option packages. And I saw no sign that laser headlights could be ordered.

Of course it is nearly impossible to buy a "base version" i8 so essentially all the cars built have LED headlights.
 
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Wow, interesting find OP! Thanks! They definitely appear to be LED clusters.

Since the photo came from the Hawthorne SC and our office is in the same complex as the Design Center / SC, I'm going to keep an eye out for this car / these headlamps on my daily trip over there.

By the way, regarding modifying the OEM headlamps, it definitely can be done (as we've already done it). We're actually going to be offering our Unplugged Performance Headlamps soon, which are upgraded factory items (both for aesthetics and better light output). Here's a little preview of how they look on our car:

JJ1-1024x656.jpg
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Cool original post, and also cool info about the bmw lights. I watched the video and was impressed by the marketing simulation. But have seen lots of impressive simulated things. If reality worked out like that, it'd be pretty amazing. Anyone actually know what's it's like to be the other car met on the road, or the proverbial deer in the headlights of these guys? It's cool tech and ideas; definitely going to keep watch on them. And hopefully Tesla will continue to surprise and impress along the same lines.
 
@OP... sorry if you've already said... quick scan didn't surface for me! These closeups don't really give whole story on aesthetics. Could you post your subjective impressions of how car looked with these headlights in whole... from say 20 or 50 feet away? Cool or geeky?

Boyfriend said it looks cool because of the dark colored housing.
My opinion, it would look amazing after they include the elegant covers to make it less "spider like".
 
This is an interesting portion of the lower housing:

View attachment 73297
These headlamps remind me of the new Mercedes-Benz multibeam active LED lamps featured in this video:
MULTIBEAM LED New 2015 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class - YouTube

I drove a Mercedes with active lamps for two weeks in Germany this December. Though this video seems gimmicky, they work even better than advertised — they quickly became my favorite feature in the car, and it was stunning watching the lights block out other drivers as my high-beams continued unimpeded around them. Cars would literally be in black boxes that tracked them where the high-beams didn't shine, and everything else was beautifully illuminated, even going around turns and with multiple cars visible. And oncoming cars would mean that the brights would drop down on their side, so at all times the beam pattern was maximized without blinding anyone.

It's really stunning, and it's the biggest thing I'm sad about with the Tesla. I'm currently scheduled for June delivery on an 85D, and, having experienced this new MB lighting system, I'm almost sad that I know how much better lighting can be than the traditional low-beam/high-beam paradigm. It'd make my year if they swapped designs before my car were produced and just started including it on all the cars, much like they did with the Autopilot tech when it was announced.