List of cars with non-standard door designs explained

This is a list of cars with non-standard door designs, sorted by door type. These car models use passenger door designs other than the standard design, which is hinged at the front edge of the door, and swings away from the car horizontally and towards the front of the car.

List of non-standard door designs

The main types of non-standard door designs are:

Some custom limousines have enlarged doors.

Scissor doors

Road-legal cars

Racing cars

Concept cars

Butterfly doors

Road-legal cars

Racing cars

A common door design on Group C, IMSA GTP cars of the 1980s and early 1990s and on any sports prototypes since then, this list does not include cars categorized as such. This list only includes purpose built race cars.

Concept cars

Gullwing doors

Road-legal cars

Racing cars

Concept cars

Suicide doors

Models of automobiles that featured suicide doors (i.e., doors hinged at the rear) include most full-sized extended-cab pickup trucks (rear doors only), and some vehicles categorised:

Canopy doors

Swan doors

Swan doors open outward like either a conventional door or a suicide door, but hinge slightly upward as well for better ground clearance, includes some vehicles categorised:

Dihedral synchro-helix actuation doors

See main article: Dihedral synchro-helix actuation doors. Dihedral doors are a type of doors found on all Koenigsegg cars. They open by rotating 90° at the hinge.

Other door types

Sliding doors

Sliding doors are common on minivans, leisure activity vehicles, light commercial vehicles and minibuses. A few passenger cars have notably also been equipped with sliding doors, such as the Peugeot 1007, the Suzuki Alto Slide Slim, the BMW Z1 and the 1954 Kaiser Darrin. Many concept cars use the design as well.

Concept cars

No doors

Some cars – generally those of a very open design – have no doors at all.

Notes and References

  1. For Your Information . 80 . Car and Driver . 13 . 1967 . 2 November 2015.
  2. Web site: Lancia Stratos Prototipo. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/s_oe4vmXbAE . 2021-12-21 . live. videodigitalpixel. youtube.com. 22 October 2012.
  3. Web site: Photograph . sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140225010002/http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/387236_10150532934814253_613864485_n.jpg . 2014-02-25.
  4. Test driving the new Honda and Pacer . 29–30 . Kiplinger's Personal Finance . July 1975 . 29 . 7 . 28 February 2018.
  5. Web site: Design Notes: 1975 AMC Pacer . GM Inside News . 28 January 2013 . 28 February 2018.
  6. Book: Montgomery, Andrew . Illustrated Directory of American Automobiles . 311 . Salamander Books . 2003 . 9781840655346 . 28 February 2018.
  7. 1975-'80 AMC Pacer: The Pacer pointed the way toward modern car-design priorities . Hemmings Motor News. March 2012 . Jeff . Koch . 28 February 2018.
  8. Book: Lyons, Dan . Cars of the Fantastic '50s . 58–61. Krause Publications . 2005 . 9780873499262 . 28 February 2018.
  9. Web site: Motoring Memories: Hudson Italia, 1954 . 29 January 2010 . Bill . Vance . Autos Canada . 28 February 2018.
  10. Web site: Entrancing: Lincoln's disappearing-door concept . 18 July 2007 . Kevin . Massy . cnet . 28 February 2018.
  11. Web site: McCabe . John . The Mohs SafariKar: There's Nothing Like it (and for Good Reason) . DrivingLine . 21 December 2014 . 28 January 2021.