List of cars with non-standard door designs

This is a list of cars with non-standard door designs, sorted by door type. These car models use passenger door designs other than the standard design, which is hinged at the front edge of the door, and swings away from the car horizontally and towards the front of the car.

List of non-standard door designs

The main types of non-standard door designs are:

  • Butterfly – butterfly doors move via hinges along the A-pillar, on an axis not aligned vertically or horizontally to the vehicle or ground. A special type of butterfly door is a single door at the front of the car with the steering wheel attached.
  • Canopy – roof, windshield, and sides are one unit that moves upward, forward, or sideways to provide access.
  • Gullwing – hinged to the roof at the top horizontal edge of the door, and open upward on a horizontal axis. Gullwing doors with a second hinge between door and moving roof panel are called falcon wing doors.
  • Scissors – rotate vertically at a fixed hinge at the front of the door, and open by rotating on a horizontal axis, perpendicular to the vehicle's length. Scissor doors that also move outward while rotating are called dihedral synchro-helix actuation doors.
  • Sliding – mounted to or suspended from a track, and open by sliding horizontally alongside or into the vehicle sidewall, or open by sliding vertically into the vehicle sidewall or floor. Sliding doors that disappear into the floor horizontally are called rolling doors.
  • Suicide – hinged on the rear end of the doorframe, and open horizontally towards the rear.
  • Swan  – opens outward like either a conventional door or a suicide door, but on an axis slightly tilted from vertical, or via articulation in the hinge to angle upward for better ground clearance 

Some custom limousines have enlarged doors.

Scissor doors

Scissor doors open on a Lamborghini Murciélago

Butterfly doors

Butterfly doors open on a McLaren F1

Racing cars

A common door design on Group C, IMSA GTP cars of the 1980s and early 1990s and recently on Daytona Prototype and Le Mans Prototype cars, this list does not include cars categorized as such. This list only include purpose built race cars.

Concept cars

Gullwing doors

Gullwing doors open on a Mercedes-Benz 300SL
Gullwing doors open on an Eagle SS

Racing cars

Concept cars

Suicide doors

Delahaye Type 135 with its front suicide doors open
Saturn Ion Quad Coupe with its suicide half-rear doors open

Models of automobiles that featured suicide doors (i.e., doors hinged at the rear) include most full-sized extended-cab pickup trucks (rear doors only), and some vehicles categorised:

Canopy doors

Lifting canopy on a Sterling Nova
Canopy doors on a Saab Aero-X

Sliding doors

1954 Kaiser Darrin with its sliding pocket door opened
Toyota HiAce Commuter minibus with its sliding door opened and a step equipped

A common door design on minivans, leisure activity vehicles, light commercial vehicles and minibuses, includes some vehicles categorised:

Swan doors

They open outward like either a conventional door or a suicide door, but hinge slightly upward as well for better ground clearance, includes some vehicles categorised:

Dihedral doors

Koenigsegg CCX with dihedral doors open

Dihedral doors are a type of doors found on all Koenigsegg cars, open by rotating 90° at the hinge.

Other door types

  • Allard Clipper  – No doors so that passengers can enter the car easily because it was an open car
  • AMC Pacer  – Aircraft-style doors cut into roof on hinges with outward arc of the top for easier entry when door is partially open, rain gutters hidden in the roof cut outs, passenger door is four-inches (101 mm) longer than the driver's[8][9][10][11]
  • BMW 600  – Left-side mounted front door
  • Bond Minicar  – No doors so that passengers can enter the car easily because it was an open car
  • Brütsch Mopetta  – No doors so that passengers can enter the car easily because it was an open car
  • Chrysler ME Four-Twelve  – Conventional front doors, but no door handles
  • FMR Tg500  – Aircraft-style canopy doors, hinge on right side
  • Ford GT (first generation), Ford GT40 and Ford GT90  – Conventional front-hinged doors that have panels extended to the roof of the car (also called aircraft doors)
  • Goggomobil Dart  – No doors so that passengers can enter the car easily because it was an open car
  • Hudson Italia  – Doors cut 14 inches (356 mm) into the roof (also called aircraft doors) [12][13]
  • Lincoln Futura  – Glass roof canopy hinged at the rear
  • Lincoln Mark VIII Concept  – Doors "rolled" into underbody of frame (also called disappearing doors)[14]
  • Messerschmitt Kabinenroller  – Aircraft-style canopy doors, hinge on right side
  • Mitsuoka MC-1  – Plastic doors that can be removed when opened
  • Peel Manxcar  – Suicide rear-hinged doors that open until it touches the body of the car
  • Peel Trident  – Flip-top door that opens like a canopy
  • Smart Crossblade  – Minimal "sword-like" door
  • Suzuki CV1  – One single door in the car’s fiberglass body
  • Suzuki Pixy + SSC  – The SSC has its doors hinged at both front and rear of the car, but the Pixy has a glass roof canopy hinged at the rear
  • Tata Magic Iris  – All three doors are conventional doors, 2 doors on the passenger’s side and 1 door on the driver’s side
  • Toyota i-Unit  – Glass roof canopy hinged at the rear
  • TVR Tuscan Speed Six  – Conventional front doors, but door handles are in button form under the side mirrors
  • Zündapp Janus  – Front- and rear-mounted side-hinged doors

References

  1. ↑ "For Your Information". Car and Driver. 13: 80. 1967. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Lancia Stratos Prototipo". videodigitalpixel. youtube.com. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Automotive". Design News. Reed Business Information. 37: 381. 1981. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Neon in lights". Car and Driver. 36: 197. 1991. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Stone, Matt; Matras, John (2006). 365 Cars You Must Drive. Motorbooks. p. 196. ISBN 9780760324141. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Clever name, surprising technology". autosofinterest.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "Photograph". sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Test driving the new Honda and Pacer". Kiplinger's Personal Finance. 29 (7): 29–30. July 1975. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  9. ↑ "Design Notes: 1975 AMC Pacer". GM Inside News. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  10. ↑ Montgomery, Andrew (2003). Illustrated Directory of American Automobiles. Salamander Books. p. 311. ISBN 9781840655346. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  11. ↑ Koch, Jeff (March 2012). "1975-'80 AMC Pacer: The Pacer pointed the way toward modern car-design priorities". Hemmings Motor News. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  12. ↑ Lyons, Dan (2005). Cars of the Fantastic '50s. Krause Publications. pp. 58–61. ISBN 9780873499262. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  13. ↑ Vance, Bill (29 January 2010). "Motoring Memories: Hudson Italia, 1954". Autos Canada. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  14. ↑ Massy, Kevin (July 18, 2007). "Entrancing: Lincoln's disappearing-door concept". cnet. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
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