Mercedes Gullwing

July 14, 2003 5:27 PM

The Gullwing is back. More photos here. Are any manufacturers other than Lamborghini using a gullwing design? Maybe DMC will reappear in the future with their own throwback.
posted by fezdel (22 comments total)

Some guys in Poland building their own SLR.
posted by gyc at 5:41 PM on July 14, 2003

That looks sweet, but I can't imagine a door opening mechanism working on that tiny A-pillar for the life of the car. Are they sure that's going to hold up, and not make for a huge blind spot for the driver?
posted by mathowie at 5:59 PM on July 14, 2003

Oops. The gullwing-style doors are the Delorean DMC-type. The Lamborghini-style doors are "scissors."
posted by schlaager at 5:59 PM on July 14, 2003

Also, Lamborghini only puts scissors doors on the V-12 models.
posted by schlaager at 6:00 PM on July 14, 2003

I thought gullwing doors were named as such because of their profile?
posted by machaus at 6:15 PM on July 14, 2003

Gullwing doors will never be practical as long as there are parking lots which require side-by-side parking, eh?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:28 PM on July 14, 2003

This post is not complete without some pictures of the new Enzo Ferrari.

(I thought you guys were more up on this kind of stuff?!)
posted by slacy at 6:37 PM on July 14, 2003

I would think that gull wing doors would be even better in side-by-side parking. If the doors work well, they'll never extend out over the body of the car. You'd never have to squeeze yourself out between the door and the car, while being careful not to hit the other car. It would be awesome!
posted by jmauro at 6:39 PM on July 14, 2003

jmauro, I think scissor doors would be OK for side-by-side parking, while true gullwing doors (Delorean, et al) would result in either trapped passengers or scraped car sides.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:06 PM on July 14, 2003

I thought gullwing doors were named as such because of their profile?

They are, but scissors doors have a different profile. Gullwing doors are hinged in the roof and rotate up with the axis of rotation parallel to the long axis of the car. Scissors doors are hinged on the pillar and rotate up-and-forward.

Gullwing doors will never be practical as long as there are parking lots which require side-by-side parking, eh?

I can't see why they'd take up any more space when cycling through than a normal door does. The weird motions gullwing and scissors doors go through are to keep the door from having to swing waaaaaaay out. Okay, fine, it's also to look cool. And in the case of the original 300SL, it was also to deal with the frame being large enough to require a big sill at the bottom of the cabin.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:19 PM on July 14, 2003

The DeLorean FAQ says that the doors only need 12" of clearance -- and once they're open you have a much easier time getting out of the vehicle. It's darn near impossible to get out a normal car with only a foot to the side of you, especially in a coupe with longer doors.
posted by zsazsa at 7:43 PM on July 14, 2003

That looks sweet, but I can't imagine a door opening mechanism working on that tiny A-pillar for the life of the car.

Exactly. I assume that you don't slam the thing shut like it's a Chevy truck.
posted by goethean at 7:53 PM on July 14, 2003

Maybe it's time for the Bricklin to make a comeback. (more here.

(Sort of the automobile equivalent to the Avro Arrow, except no one here in New Brunswick ever wants to mention it.)
posted by Space Coyote at 8:43 PM on July 14, 2003

They can put scissor doors on anything these days.
posted by Hackworth at 10:41 PM on July 14, 2003

Well, I certainly like them better than these "gulllwings". (Though to be fair, that hamaan is extremely fast, and all the mods except the doors are functional.
posted by mosch at 11:09 PM on July 14, 2003

The disadvantage of the upward-swinging doors is the possibility of getting trapped if you roll the car over onto the roof. As you burn to death, your wife will look over at you, upside down, and say, "Nice car, macho man."

There is a little Japanese car with wing doors, but I can't remember the name, something like "Mera," which reminded me of Bora. Can't find it.
posted by planetkyoto at 11:10 PM on July 14, 2003

Maybe DMC will reappear in the future...

AH, duh? Didn't you see the movie?

</obvious bad joke>
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 11:17 PM on July 14, 2003

planetkyoto, it's a toyota sera. mine's the one on top. going cheap!
posted by paul at 2:03 AM on July 15, 2003

pual: that URL 404ed
posted by Space Coyote at 3:59 AM on July 15, 2003

double post?

(i only reference coz it was one of my first..)

that home-made SLR is a classic gyc.
posted by Frasermoo at 6:08 AM on July 15, 2003

Aside from the door hinge question, how many millions did they spend to make this car look like a slammed Honca Civic? Front end fascia from Pep Boys, woo woo.
posted by jfuller at 7:34 AM on July 15, 2003

grrr. if you're desperate to see my sera mentioned above, you'll have to search for it under private used cars here.
posted by paul at 5:26 PM on July 15, 2003