Comments on: Mercedes Gullwing

Mercedes Gullwing

fezdel — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 17:27:27 -0800

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.

By: gyc

gyc — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 17:41:05 -0800

Some guys in Poland building their own SLR.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 17:59:31 -0800

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?

By: schlaager

schlaager — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 17:59:55 -0800

Oops. The gullwing-style doors are the Delorean DMC-type. The Lamborghini-style doors are "scissors."

By: schlaager

schlaager — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 18:00:54 -0800

Also, Lamborghini only puts scissors doors on the V-12 models.

By: machaus

machaus — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 18:15:41 -0800

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

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 18:28:03 -0800

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

By: slacy

slacy — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 18:37:36 -0800

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?!)

By: jmauro

jmauro — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 18:39:14 -0800

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!

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 19:06:25 -0800

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.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 19:19:11 -0800

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.

By: zsazsa

zsazsa — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 19:43:02 -0800

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.

By: goethean

goethean — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 19:53:04 -0800

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.

By: Space Coyote

Space Coyote — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 20:43:08 -0800

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.)

By: Hackworth

Hackworth — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 22:41:27 -0800

They can put scissor doors on anything these days.

By: mosch

mosch — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 23:09:09 -0800

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.

By: planetkyoto

planetkyoto — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 23:10:41 -0800

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.

By: Steve_at_Linnwood

Steve_at_Linnwood — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 23:17:21 -0800

Maybe DMC will reappear in the future... AH, duh? Didn't you see the movie? </obvious bad joke>

By: paul

paul — Tue, 15 Jul 2003 02:03:46 -0800

planetkyoto, it's a toyota sera. mine's the one on top. going cheap!

By: Space Coyote

Space Coyote — Tue, 15 Jul 2003 03:59:06 -0800

pual: that URL 404ed

By: Frasermoo

Frasermoo — Tue, 15 Jul 2003 06:08:58 -0800

double post? (i only reference coz it was one of my first..) that home-made SLR is a classic gyc.

By: jfuller

jfuller — Tue, 15 Jul 2003 07:34:29 -0800

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.

By: paul

paul — Tue, 15 Jul 2003 17:26:18 -0800

grrr. if you're desperate to see my sera mentioned above, you'll have to search for it under private used cars here.