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What is gull-wing doors?

1. Introduction

The so-called gull-wing doors, in that it hinges the roof, because the shape of the door open like wings named.
gull-wing doors personalize the appearance of movement, gives a feeling fluttered, gull-wing doors easier placement of luggage and passengers out.
gull-wing doors that use personalized design on the car door,
After years of development it has become a symbol of classical and romantic.
The gull-wing doors have become the benchmark, no doubt thanks to MERCEDES-BENZ!
It is precisely in 1954 – 1957 during the launch of 300SLGullwingCoupe,
so that the gull-wing door sports car designed to become a model!
on the right is the originator of gull-wing doors – Benz 300SLGullwingCoupe
The first invention is designed to open up the doors of the Mercedes-Benz sports car classic 300sl, but the reason why Mercedes-Benz invention to open up the door it is forced, because the chassis to ensure high rigidity, the left and right sides of the chassis are provided two parallel beams coarse design 300SL, the results lead to the installation of conventional doors, desperation, chief designer Bernhard Wilhelm Rudolf devised upwardly * open the door of creativity, called the gull-wing doors, then Lamborghini designers Gandini improve the gull-wing doors, designed scissor doors. In fact, it opens up the door design is actually quite upset, and there is no advantage, but a lot of shortcomings, above all, the difference between the strength of the bottom hinge reliability, easily damaged, because open up the door hinge of the door can not put too much weight, Therefore, only the use of carbon fiber and other lightweight materials made of ultra-running door only use this structure. Secondly, such a door structure, poor security, there is a serious safety hazard, but a roll, it can not open the door, the other structures of the gull-wing doors roof strength greater damage. So a very small scale, in general, this desperation born of a lot of design flaws, the only advantage is to show off the appearance.
known gullwing door models
1954-1957 Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe
1967 Lamborghini Marzal
1969 Mercedes-Benz C-111
1980 Aston Martin Bulldog
1981 DeLorean DMC-12
1990 Sauber Mercedes-Benz C-112
2004 Audi RSQ Concept
2006 Mercedes-Benz SLR quot; 722 Editionquot;
2010 Benz SLS

2, detailed description

Benz 300SL classic door hinge is arranged in the roof, two small-sized doors open outwardly after the meeting open upward like wings. Designers give this door a nice name —- gull-wing doors. It looks artificial gull-wing doors early in the design is completely out of practical considerations. To make the classic Mercedes-Benz SL have good results in the game but with a lot different from the traditional model of the design, which, in order to reduce vehicle weight while maintaining rigidity of the body of the tubular frame is an important feature of this car.
SL body around the tubular frame is synthesized using a sturdy structure, which makes the higher threshold of the door, no longer in a compressed low shelter roof conventional vehicle door. Clever designers will put the roof door hinges, and let the doors and the roof partially fused, and finally add a couple of hydraulic tappets as a support, the legendary gull-wing doors was born.
For such a small size like a gull wing doors 300SL models, its advantages and scissors like a gate, can be opened and closed in a narrow space.
gullwing doors of course, a non-perfect, in order to open the way to achieve handsome, you can not have storage space on the skylights and doors. Roof hinge layout also allows gull-wing doors and convertible missed, and the choice of a gull-wing door car you also need confidence to his arm length and arm strength for the job. After the rollover gull-wing doors also met with scissor doors and a butterfly door can not be opened as embarrassing, Fortunately, the latest Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG by specialDisengaging means to solve this problem.

“Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG gull-wing doors once again to appear before the world.”
But the arrival of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG solve this defect, Zhenshi tube space frame 300SL gull-wing door car is to ensure body strength, to nostalgia on the SLS AMG Unibody would completely become a tribute to the older generation, but for this purpose a lot of problems to overcome structural strength and safety aspects. For example, in order to ensure that rollover can escape door hinge mechanism installed in the explosive device, when the sensor detects the vehicle body upside down will fire the explosive device exploded door. It seems to want to reproduce the classic is not an easy task.

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