A front hood assembly has a front hood of a motor vehicle that is hinged to the chassis of the motor vehicle via at least one multi-jointed hinge, said front hood being lockable via at least one hood lock. The at least one multi-jointed hinge comprises at least one connecting rod that is variable in length under the impact of a collision with a pedestrian. The assembly provides a protection for pedestrians that is technically feasible and can be implemented at low cost.