A bonnet for a motor vehicle having shock absorbing members

A bonnet 10 for a motor vehicle 5, which has a pair of wrap around light units 6 fitted towards the front of the body structure, includes a pair of shock absorbing members 20 positioned towards the front of the bonnet 10 one on each side of the vehicle immediately adjacent to and above a respective light unit 6. Each shock absorbing member 20 is shaped to correspond to the outer surface of the adjacent light unit 6 and has light reflecting properties which give the appearance that each light unit and its adjacent shock absorbing member is a single component when the bonnet is in a normal closed position. If the vehicle 5 collides with a pedestrian, the shock absorbing members 20 can prevent contact between the head of the pedestrian and the light units 6, particularly if the bonnet is arranged to be partially raised.; The shock absorbing members 20 may be fastened between inner and outer skins (figure 3) of the bonnet, or they overlie an outer skin (figure 4). The front edge of the bonnet may be automatically raised in the event of a collision with a pedestrian.