a body panel includes a hood portion configured to extend over and across a vehicle front compartment , and two fender portions . a unitary , one - piece inner panel and a unitary , one - piece outer panel cooperate to define the hood portion and the two fender portions . the inner panel and the outer panel comprise a substantial portion of a vehicle body front end , replacing the multitude of inner panels , outer panels , and reinforcements in a prior art vehicle body . the body panel preferably functions as a load - bearing vehicle frame portion , reducing or eliminating prior art vehicle frame components . a method of manufacturing the body panel includes forming an inner panel and an outer panel using superplastic forming , quick plastic forming , or sheet hydroforming , and connecting the inner panel and the outer panel .