42:
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low and small. The
Mercedes engineers solved the problem by also opening a part of the roof. The Bricklin was a more conventionally sized door but the actuation system was problematic in day-to-day use and led to unreliable operation until an aftermarket air-door upgrade was installed in all Bricklins. In addition, there was some concern that in making the doors as light as possible they wouldn't provide adequate protection in side-impact accidents. There was, however, no indication that this concern was justified.
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geometry of the strut is pointed at the hinge and therefore at a mechanical disadvantage. As the spring relaxes through the door's rotation open, the strut gains a better moment arm and gradually takes over the effort. A correctly balanced door opens fully on its own by simply activating the door latch from the interior, exterior, or from an aftermarket wireless release.
137:, 14 years before Mercedes-Benz produced its similar, famous 300 SL gullwing door. The papillon door is a precursor to the gullwing door, and is slightly different in its architecture, but is often overlooked when discussing gull-wing design. Conventional car doors are typically hinged at the front-facing edge of the door, with the door swinging outward horizontally.
53:
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Gull-wing doors have a somewhat questionable reputation because of early examples like the
Mercedes and the Bricklin. The 300 SL needed the door design, as its tubular frame race car chassis design had a very high door sill, which in combination with a low roof would make a standard door opening very
183:
The Tesla Model X, introduced in 2015, has double-hinged gull-wing doors, called falcon-wing doors by Tesla. The Model X has several design considerations to make the doors more practical. Being double-hinged allows them to open with less clearance (horizontal and vertical) than would otherwise be
216:
version of the car harder, as the hinges would be removed with the roof, and standard doors would be needed for the convertible. Mercedes did so when replacing the gullwing coupe altogether with the 300SL roadster in 1958. It was never a concern for DeLorean, since no convertible version was ever
208:
cars. The combination of the torsion spring and strut provided the correct torque variation necessary to offset the variable torque of the door, as it opened through a rotational angle of about 80 degrees. The torsion bar is most important in the first foot of movement from the bottom, where the
168:
The design is a very practical one in a tight urban parking space. When properly designed and counterbalanced, they require little side-clearance to open (about 27.5 cm or 11" in the DeLorean) and allow much better entrance/egress than conventional doors. The most obvious downside to having
180:, a concept car designed by and for women, had gull-wing doors as part of its design. Gull-wing doors make it easier to lift a bag to store it behind the driver's seat, increase visibility over the driver's shoulder, and make it easier to get in and out of the car.
169:
gull-wing doors is that, were the car to roll over and come to rest on its roof, exit by the doors would be impossible, requiring a large windscreen opening to escape. The
Mercedes SLS solved this problem by fitting
184:
required. The vehicle also has sensors to determine ceiling height and the presence of potential obstacles and to determine how the hinges will operate to open the doors and avoid obstacles, if possible.
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It also makes sealing the car against water leaks and snow intrusion more difficult because of the shape and movement path of the door itself.
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204:) to partially counterbalance a full-sized door, and then added a gas-pressurized (pneumatic) strut similar to those found in
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Other disadvantages of the system were not so easy to address. For example, the gull-wing design makes creating a
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of the 2010s. Gull-wing doors have also been used in aircraft designs, such as the four-seat single-engine
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in the hinges, that would blow up if the car rolled over, causing the door to fall off altogether.
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Apart from the
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL of the mid-1950s, Mercedes-Benz SLS and the experimental
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642:"Socata Trinidad GT: A beautiful little French retractable with a certain je ne sais quoi",
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The following is a (partial) list of production and kit automobiles with gull-wing doors:
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The DeLorean solved these problems by using a patented cryogenically set stainless steel
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of the early 1970s, the best-known examples of road-cars with gull-wing doors are the
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133:(butterfly doors). The papillon door was designed by Jean Bugatti for the
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and was designed by a
Maxwell James Harris, first as a race car in 1952 (
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that is hinged at the roof rather than the side, as pioneered by
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659:"DeLorean Frequently Asked Questions – Technical Information"
415:
and many were made that are not included on this list.
707:"Tesla's Falcon Wing doors have a mind of their own"
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119:Opening upwards, the doors evoke the image of a
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444:Elite Enterprises Laser 917, inspired by the
8:
458:Aztec 7, an American replica of the Italian
128:
84:light aircraft with its gull-wing doors open
563:List of cars with non-standard door designs
1264:
838:
805:
791:
783:
725:"Why Don't More Cars Have Gullwing Doors?"
705:Valdes-Dapena, Peter (October 2, 2015).
202:Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation
595:
353:
334:(part of the rear passenger doors only)
745:. Saintjohn.nbcc.nb.ca. Archived from
7:
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1380:Vehicle identification number (VIN)
48:Gullwing Coupé with its doors open
25:
1443:Automobiles with gull-wing doors
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823:Part of a series of articles on
777:Automobiles with gull-wing doors
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355:Automobiles with gull-wing doors
88:In the automotive industry, a
1:
1214:Approach and departure angles
661:. Dmcnews.com. Archived from
629:"Papillon and gull-wing door"
411:Gullwing doors are common in
530:Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair II
112:), and then as a production
1277:Automotive light bulb types
328:(rear passenger doors only)
27:Car door hinged at the roof
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32:Gull-wing (disambiguation)
29:
1392:
820:
743:"Bricklin Specifications"
1297:high-intensity discharge
348:Bugatti Atlantic Type 64
286:Isdera Commendatore 112i
200:spring (manufactured by
164:Practical considerations
160:series built in France.
152:from the 1980s, and the
647:retrieved 3 August 2011
604:"Bugatti.com - Type 64"
239:Apollo Intensa Emozione
981:Stressed member engine
471:Innes Lee Scorpion K19
129:
127:. In French, they are
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1113:Windshield/windscreen
306:Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
244:Aston Martin Valkyrie
79:
67:
55:
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1282:Daytime running lamp
779:at Wikimedia Commons
731:. 30 September 2015.
272:(engine compartment)
148:from the 1970s, the
106:Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
46:Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
30:For other uses, see
1244:Weight distribution
1176:Omniview technology
684:"Volvo Concept Car"
301:Mercedes-Benz 300SL
224:List of automobiles
72:with its doors open
60:with its doors open
1363:Registration plate
686:. Volvo Car France
491:Burton Car Company
401:in the background)
270:De Tomaso Mangusta
142:Mercedes-Benz C111
92:, also known as a
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1083:Glass run channel
1017:Trunk/boot/dickie
814:Automotive design
775:Media related to
729:Popular Mechanics
644:Plane & Pilot
460:Alfa Romeo Carabo
188:Design challenges
16:(Redirected from
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888:Continental tire
851:Backbone chassis
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606:. Archived from
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497:Siva S160 Spyder
451:Embeesea Charger
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321:(NSU) Thurner RS
281:Hofstetter Turbo
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94:falcon-wing door
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260:Bristol Fighter
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130:portes papillon
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610:on 2014-04-18
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578:Suicide doors
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573:Sliding doors
571:
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568:Scissor doors
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311:Pagani Huayra
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251:(Suzuki Cara)
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154:Tesla Model X
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58:Bricklin SV-1
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19:
1368:vanity plate
1307:trafficators
1118:washer fluid
1098:Power window
1093:Opera window
1044:
1005:Compartments
893:Crumple zone
878:Cabrio coach
822:
751:. Retrieved
747:the original
737:
728:
719:
710:
700:
688:. Retrieved
678:
667:. Retrieved
663:the original
652:
643:
637:
623:
612:. Retrieved
608:the original
598:
515:Diamond DA62
462:concept car.
410:
399:DMC DeLorean
265:DMC DeLorean
249:Autozam AZ-1
227:
219:
211:
195:
191:
182:
175:
167:
150:DMC DeLorean
139:
135:1939 Type 64
118:
97:
93:
89:
87:
70:DMC DeLorean
1302:sealed beam
1234:Roll center
1229:Ride height
1166:Japan black
1161:Instruments
1146:Curb feeler
1012:Hood/bonnet
553:Canopy door
446:Porsche 917
316:Porsche 906
214:convertible
198:torsion bar
1437:Categories
1088:Greenhouse
753:2011-11-26
669:2009-12-08
614:2014-04-29
590:References
583:Swan doors
510:Cessna 350
114:sports car
82:Cessna 350
1448:Car doors
1342:Tow hitch
1260:equipment
1186:Tire/tyre
1045:Gull-wing
1035:Butterfly
996:Trunk lid
939:Monocoque
843:Framework
520:Socata TB
397:(and the
217:planned.
206:hatchback
178:Volvo YCC
158:Socata TB
116:in 1954.
36:Gull-wing
1402:Category
1287:Headlamp
1269:Lighting
1258:Exterior
1224:Overhang
1207:Geometry
1191:run-flat
1171:Nerf bar
986:Subframe
954:Platform
944:Overhang
856:Beltline
711:CNNMoney
690:March 2,
558:Car door
541:See also
504:Aircraft
480:Replicar
466:Fiberfab
456:Fiberfab
413:kit cars
407:Kit cars
102:car door
1412:Commons
1108:Sunroof
1060:Suicide
1055:Sliding
1050:Scissor
991:Tonneau
976:Spoiler
883:Chassis
631:. 2013.
493:hardtop
427:Bradley
423:Piranha
343:Quant F
338:Quant E
332:HiPhi X
121:seagull
100:, is a
98:up-door
1422:Portal
1292:hidden
1040:Canopy
949:Pillar
930:shaker
915:Grille
908:skirts
903:ponton
898:Fender
871:Dagmar
866:Bumper
486:RPB GT
482:Cursor
441:SS Mk1
96:or an
1375:Theft
1356:Legal
1335:power
1196:spare
1181:Parts
1123:wiper
1075:Glass
1027:Doors
925:scoop
439:Eagle
125:wings
1325:Horn
1065:Swan
969:rack
964:Roof
920:Hood
834:Body
825:cars
692:2004
433:Dare
429:GTII
176:The
110:W194
34:and
421:AMT
123:'s
1439::
727:.
709:.
435:DZ
80:A
68:A
56:A
806:e
799:t
792:v
756:.
713:.
694:.
672:.
617:.
38:.
20:)
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