What are Gullwing Doors?

The term gull-wing door is an automotive industry term describing automobile doors which are hinged at the roof. They are so named because, when opened, the doors evoke the image of a seagull's wings.

Conventional car doors are typically hinged at the front-facing edge of the door and allow the door to swing outward from the body of the car.

The most well-known examples of road-cars with gull-wing doors are the Mercedes-Benz 300SL from the 1950s, the Bricklin SV-1 from the 1970s and the De Lorean DMC-12 from the 1980s.
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SevorbeupstryIsBack - 9/2/2007 5:10:57 AM

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The first supercar.

EnnNorak - 9/7/2007 7:45:55 AM

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The 300 SL was the price of a small house back in the fifties and only a few thousand less than the RR silver Cloud that I lusted for -- I was a student then and content to drive a used Cadillac. A little later, I could have bought the Jaguar XKE roadster but I was saving my money to go into business so I had to keep on driving company furnished sedans. Maybe I'm lucky that I never did get the 300 SL as I probably would have rolled it and died unable to open the gullwing doors with the car wrecked in an upside-down position.

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 9/2/2007 7:57:42 AM

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Forget Gullwing........ It's Sooo Yesterday

The Koenigsegg has the BEST DOOR SETUP EVER.

Look it up.

Atenza28 - 9/2/2007 4:16:12 PM

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Absolutely correct. The Koenigsegg doors are the best doors ever.

w209w114 - 9/2/2007 6:50:09 PM

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What an ignorant statement! You cant compare a car that close to 60 years with a new one. You dont know how to appreciate cars.

SilentNightR34 - 9/6/2007 5:17:30 PM

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Whoa dude no need to get your panties in a bunch! He just prefers the Koenigsegg doors!

Airliner - 9/3/2007 1:44:03 PM

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I guess you would know this from your vast experience with these doors?! 'Here let me make a dumb statement with no clue as to what I am talking about.' Gullwing doors only swing out a few inches out since the opening action is towards the center of the roof; meaning up and out of the way... a conventional door needs a lot more clearance; a coupe like sports car comparable to these gullwing door cars would need even more clearance than a typical 4D sedan. But you probably already knew that... Wait, you didn’t.

DaHarder - 9/2/2007 11:09:51 AM

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My dad had a Bricklin SV-1 back in mids 1970's, and those doors, though very cool looking, were so unreliable and such a P.I.T.A.

Parking was indeed an issue.

Airliner - 9/9/2007 3:21:00 PM

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Sorry... you missed the point. A true gullwing door only needs a couple of inches to open 100%. Not halfway like a conventional door.

On your second point... you only sound intelligent if you speak from experience. So I am sorry you managed to slam yourself with your own comment.