Front-hood arrangement for a passenger vehicle and method of making same

A vehicle assembly comprising:

• a mudguard extending along a vehicle side;
• a hood assembly including an inner hood and an outer hood operable to cover a space adjacent the vehicle side, said outer hood including a lateral border section which exhibits a bottom edge spaced by a separating gap from a top of the mudguard when the hood assembly is in a closed position,
• a vehicle body supporting element disposed laterally inward with respect to the mudguard,
• hood stiffening structure supported at the vehicle body supporting element when the hood assembly is in a closed position, and
• at least one connecting web connecting the hood stiffening structure with the lateral border section,
• wherein said hood stiffening structure and connecting web are configured such that the outer hood lateral border region is deformed and expanded laterally outwards in response to impact forces on top of the outer hood to thereby ensure a reliable deformation energy damping path in the event of pedestrian impact against the lateral border section.