You probably know that there are a lot of types of car doors. Some hinge at the front, some at the rear, some even swing upwards. The way a car door opens and closes is an important design element that automotive engineers have been able to do remarkable things with over 100 years. Let’s take a look at some of the types that have been made.
Standard doors – Standard is a fancy name to refer to your basic car door that is hinged at the front of the door and swings out from the car when opened and back in when closed. Most vehicles sold these days have doors like this.
Sliding doors – And, of course, for you minivan owners, there are sliding doors. These doors are very common on minivans and some standard vans. People tend to like how these doors are easy to open and slide shut, making a vehicle an excellent family hauler.
Scissor doors– These are also known as Lambo doors, switchblade doors or turtles. These doors rotate vertically at a fixed hinge on the doors front, rather than outward as with most car doors. These doors rotate up to 90 degrees, usually, but sometimes rotate up to 130 degrees. This type of door allows a driver to operate the car with the door open, which cannot happen while driving a car with conventional doors.
Gull-wing doors– As the name suggests, these types of doors, when opened, may make the car look similar to a gull with its wings up in the air as if in flight. These doors are hinged on the car’s roof, rather than on its side. Picture the Delorean in the Back to the Future movies and you’ve got the picture. Parking one’s car in the city is easy with this type of door, as they do not require much side clearance to open. And talk about, showy. These are cool looking doors.
Canopy doors – This is a wild one. Canopy doors are only seen on exotic cars. Not really a door, the entire canopy, or top section, of car opens so passengers can enter and exit. Picture a pilot getting into a fighter jet; this is a canopy. People get a car with the capability of having a canopy door because they want their car to really stand out.
Butterfly doors -These are sometimes referred to as “butterfly wing” or “vertical” doors. They are usually found on high-performance, exotic cars. They move up and out via hinges that are located along the A-pillar. Butterfly doors have extreme wow factor when they are opened and closed.
Swan doors – Swan doors open up and out. Sort of like a combination of a standard door and a butterfly door. They are built primarily for wow factor and they certainly provide it.
If you look around, you will probably find some other door types but these are the major ones and we hope you found this quick guide a good primer on the subject.
Article Courtesy of: Urse Honda
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