Gullwing doors, suicide doors & Co: the types of car doors / door types at a glance!

Thomas Wachsmuth 5 December 2021 Tips, products, information & Co., Tuning Wiki

Reading time 6 Min.

Recently updated on October 29, 2023 at 08:33 am

Door is door? Never! We have the different types of car doors for you at a glance. What are the differences when talking about scissor, butterfly or wing doors? Why is the door system of a Lamborghini Aventador different from that of an Opel Corsa? And why, does it look like the rear doors of a Rolls-Royce Ghost were simply installed upside down? We have the answers and the following list gives you the answers designations:

Gullwing doors, suicide doors & Co.

Sliding doors
Suicide doors
scissor doors
Butterfly doors
Sliding doors
Swan doors
Dihedral doors
Slidable roof

Most of the cars on our roads open their doors in the same way. No matter if it two or come are. In fact, there are numerous other door types, most of which are installed in particularly expensive and exotic cars. The following list briefly explains some door models. The following applies here: There is nothing that does not exist or has already existed.

1. Standard doors

Are in numerous car models Standard doors installed. These are hinged at the front and open from the back to the front. Even if they may seem a little boring due to their sheer number. In fact, these door types are not only the most cost-effective, they are also the ones from a safety point of view most advantageous. On the one hand, they can hardly be opened at high speeds against the wind, and at the same time, in the event of a crash, they offer the greatest probability that the doors can still be opened afterwards.

2. Sliding doors

Sliding doors are often found on delivery vans, vans or family buses. They are characterized by the fact that they offer a much larger opening than z. B. Standard doors. This large opening area facilitates both boarding and loading with large and bulky cargo, especially since this can be done from the side. This type of door also offers some advantages in tight parking spaces. A sliding door can actually always be opened completely and does not swing onto the sidewalk or the street. The sliding door is varied in its design. The legendary BMW Z1, for example, with its sliding doors that open downwards (vertical sliding doors) travel. In other models were z. T. sliding doors installed that could be completely sunk into the fender.

3. Suicide doors

Suicide doors are not as rare as you might think. While they were mainly known for their use in large Rolls-Royce sedans, they are now used in pick-ups with extended cabs or so-called one-and-a-half cabins, among other things. They are also used in sporty models such as the Mazda RX-8 due to their compact design. Another advantage is that they make it much easier to get into the rear of the vehicle, especially since z. T. can be dispensed with on the B-pillar. they are posted at the back and thus open from the front to the back, which can also be dangerous. If the door is opened while driving, the airstream can get caught in it and force the doors open. That usually leads to a serious one Damage to the vehicle.

4. Scissor Doors

scissor doors (LSD-Doors) are similar to double doors with the difference that the door hinges on them below the A-pillar are hidden. This causes the car doors to rotate vertically like scissors when opened. Scissor doors were installed for the first time in the Bertone design of the Alfa Romeo Carabo. Here they were still extremely thin and actually resembled scissors. Today, various Lamborghini models are typical examples. However, due to the crash safety and noise insulation, the doors have become significantly thicker and heavier over time, so that the lifting mechanism has also become more complex and now takes up more space. Retrofittable scissor doors On the other hand, they are extremely popular on the tuning market and can be found in the range of many suppliers.

5. Butterfly doors

Butterfly doors open like scissor doors upwards, but in contrast to them are attached directly to the A-pillar. You come or came z. B. in the McLaren F1 or the BMW i8 in front and open to the front around the A-pillar. The BMW Isetta was also equipped with a single butterfly door. This opened to the front together with the steering column and let the driver get in and out through the front of the vehicle.

6. Double doors

The Sliding doors the hinges are fastened in the roof and open so far upwards, whereby an incomparable headroom is achieved when entering and exiting. The English name is Gull-Wings, which illustrates this concept. Falcon wings (Falcon wings), on the other hand, fold together via another middle hinge when opening. A well-known example of this are the rear doors on the Tesla Model X.

7. Swan doors

Swan doors are rarely found (e.g. at Lykan Hypersport). They are usually designed to look after front top to open. They thus form a mixture of standard and wing doors, but at the same time represent something completely unique. In even more rare cases, they also open up to the rear and are a bit reminiscent of the suicide door.

8. Dihedral doors

Worldwide, the Swedish car maker Koenigsegg is the only manufacturer that Dihedral doors (Dihedral Synchro-Helix Doors / Dihedral Synchro-Helix Actuation Doors) installed in series. For show purposes, these doors rotate 90 degrees from the vertical to the horizontal when they are opened and at the same time move a little forward. The door mechanism is extremely complicated and correspondingly expensive. However, the vehicle models from Koenigsegg such as CCX, Agera or Jesko also achieve corresponding prices and are extremely popular at the same time.

9. Sliding roof

In German one looks in vain for a clear name for this door concept. In English, on the other hand, one speaks of Canopy Doors. With this rare concept, the entire roof, including the glass surfaces, can be moved for entry, which is somewhat reminiscent of the glass cockpit of a fighter jet. Slidable roofs were used, for example, on the famous Messerschmitt models.

And that wasn't even all door concepts. There are even rarer variants (see the following video) such as from the Russian manufacturer Yo car and its prototype Yo Mobile Concept. Here the doors went through the roof to the rear over the vehicle. Or the Rezvani Beast with his Sidewinder doors. Also seen in the video, the Japanese manufacturer Jatec with its "disappearing car door“On a Lincoln.