These headlights cost $42,000

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These headlights cost $42,000 These headlights cost $42,000

Leow Ju Len

21/01/2015

BMW’s Laserlights come at a heart attack price. What makes them so special?

SINGAPORE – Headlights in Singapore are practically (but not legally) optional, with enough street lighting here to turn night into day. But other countries are a different story. Elsewhere there’s a real chance of hitting something because you simply couldn’t see it.

Hence, BMW Laserlights, a new illumination system making its debut in the i8 that flicks on automatically above 70km/h.

Sounds cool, doesn’t it? “Lasrlights”. But the bad news is the illumination doesn’t actually come from laser beams.

Instead, there’s a blue laser that strikes a phosphor plate, which then glows to produce an intense beam of white light that can provide up to 600 metres of visibility in the dark.

It’s 10 times brighter than an equivalent LED, so you can have the same level of illumination with roughly a tenth the size, as well as a tenth the appetite for electricity. Those are the real upsides of the system.

The main downside? On the i8, Laserlights are a 9,500 Euro option. Add currency exchange and local taxes, and you’re looking at the eye-watering sum of $42,000 for fancy lights that you don’t even need in Singapore.

At that price, we can’t see too many takers. Maybe if there were actual laser beams capable of slicing your enemies in half…

About the Author

Leow Ju Len

CarBuyer Singapore's original originator, Ju-Len in person is exactly how he is on the written word and behind the wheel. Meaning that he darts all over the place and just when you thought he's lost the plot, you realise that it's just you not keeping up with his incredible rate of speed and thought.

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