Abstract: The invention concerns a bumper for a motor vehicle which is constructed mainly of molded plastic parts and optically appears to be part of the vehicle body. The bumper consists mainly of a support part (10) extending across the vehicle, three absorbing elements (12, 14, 14') that can be inserted into the support part, and an elastic exterior shell (16). On the lateral end sections, the support part (10) has lateral shells (22, 22') which extend between the lateral absorbing elements (14, 14') and the exterior shell (16). In a collision, the lateral shells (22, 22') yield backwards under the deformation of the absorbing elements (14, 14'), so that components attached to the lateral shells are protected from damage.