The increased emphasis on vehicle and occupant safety in automotive accidents has necessitated research on vehicle crashworthiness during the design phase. The design of the bumper plays a significant role in mitigating pedestrian injuries and the risk of life during accidents. The present study is focused on the design and development of an economical external multilayered bumper that can be retrofitted to any car’s existing bumper fascia while improving the safety of pedestrians without compromising the safety of engine components. The proposed multilayered bumper consists of spring and damper assembly along with a layer of high-density polyurethane foam. Finite element analysis has been performed to compute the total deformation, equivalent Von-Misses stress, spring–damping coefficients, and energy absorption using the proposed bumper. An empirical relation amongst considered design parameters is formulated, which can be used to further develop the proposed modified bumper in any feasible ways. A comparative study has also been carried out between the crashworthiness of the conventional bumper and the developed bumper at various speeds. It is observed that a significant reduction of approximately 40% in the impact is observed with the proposed bumper compared to the conventional bumper. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.