Here is an example of how my brain goes into protection mode...when I woke up in the middle of the night my mind rather than get into the grief gear that would no doubt prevent sleep for the rest of the night immediately said,"Hey,how do gull wing doors work in tight parking?" It had seemed to me at the time that you would need almost 2 vertical or diagonal parking spaces. With that thought to ponder I was back to sleep in no time,however the question was still with me this morning,so here's what I found out.
In 1952 Mercedes pioneered the gull wing door,which has hinges at the roof instead of the side of the vehicle. In 1939 Jean Bugatti designed the papillon (butterfly) door which is slightly different in its architecture than the gull wing. The best known of the gull wings are the BricklinSV1 from the 70's and the DeLorean from the 80's. Now for the answer to my early morning pondering...the gull wing require very little side clearance to open and allow better entry and exit than conventional doors. The downside is that should the car roll and come to rest on its roof,exit by the doors wouldn't be possible. I don't know about the rest of you,but this was news to me,and I can't wait to check it out next time I see a rig with gull wing doors.
In 1952 Mercedes pioneered the gull wing door,which has hinges at the roof instead of the side of the vehicle. In 1939 Jean Bugatti designed the papillon (butterfly) door which is slightly different in its architecture than the gull wing. The best known of the gull wings are the BricklinSV1 from the 70's and the DeLorean from the 80's. Now for the answer to my early morning pondering...the gull wing require very little side clearance to open and allow better entry and exit than conventional doors. The downside is that should the car roll and come to rest on its roof,exit by the doors wouldn't be possible. I don't know about the rest of you,but this was news to me,and I can't wait to check it out next time I see a rig with gull wing doors.
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