Nissan pop-up hoods
To reduce pedestrian injuries

Right-left, top-down: Based on the severity of the impact, a sensor in the bumper activates the pop-up control-unit which in turn will trigger a small explosive actuator that raises the hood.

MT, PR,
14 November 2007.

With the launch of its new Skyline coupe in Japan last month, Nissan has inaugurated its “pop-up engine hood” design to help reduce head impact injuries in the event of a pedestrian collision.

To help minimize serious head injury, the pop-up movement increases the space between the hood (bonnet) and the engine, to avoid collision with hard objects.

So, in the case of a car-pedestrian collision, the engine hood is designed to pop-up instantly to help create a protective buffer space between the hood and the engine components underneath.

Based on the severity of the impact with the pedestrian, a sensor incorporated in the bumper activates the pop-up control-unit which in turn will trigger a small explosive actuator that raises the hood.

Nissan says that another positive effect comes from the pop-up hood as it allows car designers greater freedom in having to balance the aesthetic of a streamlined hood design with the safety benefits of adding more protective space over the engine components.

In other words, designers can now make the bonnet much lower and closer to the engine, as the safety buffer between engine and hood is now guaranteed by the pop-up design, so that buffer space is not needed on a permanent basis, but rather when needed... if needed.

The pop-up engine hood design  is part of Nissan's declared commitment to build safer vehicles. In Japan, the company’s safety objective is to halve the number of traffic fatalities or serious injuries involving Nissan vehicles by 2015 compared with the level in 1995.