Spanish OEM Cupra has launched its first model with a glowing logo at the front of the vehicle, featuring light diffusion and impact resistance.

Lancia of Italy was also an early adopter, using PMMA resin in slim light guide plates.

The Röhm Acrylite grades combine optical quality, heat deflection, and enhanced impact strength.

The car emblem lights up

As a pioneer in this trend, Cupra will launch one of the first series models in Europe with a luminous front logo in the fall of 2024, featuring its new Tavascan model. The Spanish automaker aims to set a striking example for its electric future with innovative lighting design. The Cupra Tavascan is the first all-electric SUV coupe from this young Barcelona-based brand, which originates from SEAT's sporty division.

The copper emblem on the hood of the Cupra Tavascan electric SUV comes to life at night, creating a crisp, illuminated outline, thanks to Röhm's light-diffusing Acrylite Softlight. Image courtesy of Cupra.

On most models, the Cupra logo is present on the hood. In the Tavascan, the design team placed the bronze emblem on a glossy black background, outlined with a slender contour of Röhm's light-diffusing Acrylite Softlight.

During the day, the contour presents a soft white appearance. At night, when the headlights are on, it transforms into a unique brand emblem with a glowing radiance. This effect is achieved by backlighting the stylishly injection-molded emblem with LEDs.

The triangular shape of the luminous emblem complements the iconic triangular lighting design of the headlights, which are connected by three horizontal light strips. This striking front-end design of the Cupra Tavascan impressed the judges of the 2024 Red Dot Design Award program, who named it the winner in the product design category: "This electric coupe impresses with its dynamic, emotive design and the unique memorability of its façade," the judges said.

Röhm provided the ideal material for this unusual iconic headlight and illuminated emblem: Acrylite Softlight with additional impact resistance. As Francisco Félix Vicent, Project Manager of the SEAT Lighting Department, emphasized: "Any plastic component used in the front end of a vehicle must be very robust and shatter-resistant. This special Acrylite product offers us the ideal combination of properties for this purpose. It has the necessary impact strength as well as the light diffusion we require."

Ramon Vilardell, Senior Business Manager of the Rohm Molding Compounds Business Unit, described the special features of Acrylite Softlight: "This product line offers a range of polymethyl methacrylate molding compounds with light-guiding and uniform light-diffusing properties. They are an ideal choice for backlight components. If required, we can also provide additional impact resistance for Acrylite Softlight."

"This sturdy type of Acrylite is a next-generation material that opens up many new applications in vehicle front-end design," summarized Vicent, an automotive engineer and lighting expert at SEAT.

Acrylite Softlight can be easily and precisely processed in all common injection molding processes. In addition, all Acrylite molding plastics have excellent UV resistance and weather resistance, allowing automotive manufacturers to avoid the need for additional UV coatings.

The slender light guide plate is made of acrylic.

The second European car manufacturer is also using acrylic to reduce the front-end look. Italy's Lancia, in partnership with Tier I Magna Lighting, has developed and deployed light guides encapsulated in a 50 cm long horizontal LED strip mounted in Acrylite Optical HT. The acrylic molding compound from Röhm has a unique set of properties particularly suited for the long light guides of the company's flagship Ypsilon EV.

"We have developed Acrylite Optical HT, specifically for applications with long-term operating temperatures that are elevated. This transparent molding compound combines Acrylite’s proven optical properties with a higher heat deflection temperature. This material exhibits resistance to thermal aging and can maintain its optical clarity," explained Rafal Czoków, Senior Business Manager of the Molding Compounds business unit at Röhm.

"Many traditional materials on the market excel in only one aspect: either they provide the necessary optical parameters but can't withstand prolonged high temperatures, or vice versa. We chose Acrylite Optical HT because it meets both requirements," said Miroslav Havlásek, Lighting Project Manager at Magna Mechatronics, Mirrors & Lighting, when explaining the reasons for the company's material choice.

In addition, the excellent processability of Acrylite Optical HT allows it to produce ultra-long and ultra-thin parts through injection molding. The material's exceptional optical transparency also ensures excellent light-guiding performance over longer lengths, making it possible to produce light guides over 50 centimeters in length. This feature is increasingly sought after in cutting-edge automotive design.