We have all seen conventional doors in automobiles, but here are some of the most unique doors in automotive markets around the globe.
Scissor doors
Let’s start with one of the more popular types of doors. Scissor doors are mostly featured in supercars, especially in the Lamborghinis since the Countach was first spotted with them. These doors are designed to allow a person to get out of their vehicle without their door taking up too much space to open.
Suicide doors
These doors are mostly spotted in ultra-luxury cars like a Rolls Royce, but can also be spotted in cheaper vehicles like Mazda’s RX8. The suicide doors are usually a set of four doors that open so that their insides face each other like a gate.
Swan doors
These are almost like normal car doors in the sense that they open like normal ones, but at a slight upward angle. These types of doors are typically used in high-end performance vehicles such as various Aston Martins. The design behind this door revolves around negotiating curbs on the main road that could be hit by the car door due to the low ground clearance.
Double doors
Double doors are known for the silhouette they create in the open position as it resembles that of a bird with its wings open. The wing doors were used to make it easier for the driver to get in and out. In addition, these doors made it easier for the driver to look over the shoulder, to gain access to the rear seats and to stow all kinds of luggage.
Butterfly doors
These doors are attached to a hinge that is on the A-pillar of the car. These look like a mix of scissor doors and hinged doors as they open upwards, but unlike the scissor doors, they open wider. Cars like the McLaren F1 popularized these doors, but the Toyota Sera inspired McLaren to build these doors.
Sliding doors
The BMW Z1 is best known for these doors. The doors were completely automatic. A simple push of a button would activate a mechanism that would slide the doors into the car’s lower sill. These doors were even referred to as disappearing doors as they would be completely hidden in the car’s floor bed. The mechanism revolved around a pulley-based system with a rubber strap to help slide the door.
Canopy doors.
These car doors opened from above like the canopy of a jet fighter. These doors usually involved opening the entire windshield and roof as one piece. These doors eliminate the need for A-pillars in a car, as the hatch opens as a whole from above. These have some disadvantages, for example if the car rolls over in an accident it is almost impossible to get out of the vehicle.
Raptor doors
0 comments
Also known as Koenigsegg’s “Dihedral Synchro-Helix” doors, these doors are another solution for opening large supercar doors with ease. These doors, invented by Koenigsegg himself, are designed in such a way that the scissor doors open too high and closing from a seated position can be uncomfortable. The doors revolve around a swinging hinge system that first pushes the door open and outwards and then pushes it upwards at a 90-degree angle without changing the height. To this day, these are each unique to Koenigsegg’s automobiles
Follow carandbike.com on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest car news and reviews.
