Scissor doors are doors that rotate vertically at a fixed hinge near the end of the windshield.[1] They are often called beetle-wing doors, jack-knife doors, switchblade doors, and Lamborghini ("Lambo") doors.[1]
[edit] History
This form of door was first introduced in the Alfa Romeo Carabo concept car, designed by Marcello Gandini. The early reasons for this design were twofold. One reason was for styling, the other was make the driver's life easier when reversing. Since the car had very poor rear visibility, instead of using the rear view mirror, the driver could open the door and actually drive the car while leaning out. Gandini used the same doors in the Lamborghini Countach whose wide chassis mandated this unusual door configuration. The design was carried forward to the Countach's successor, the Lamborghini Diablo. The only current Lamborghinis in production which use this design are the Lamborghini Murcielago and Lamborghini Reventon.[2][3] Lamborghini has now become synonymous with scissor doors.[3]
[edit] Advantages
- This design combines some of the advantages of a conventional door and the traditional gullwing door. As the door open upwards rather than outward it is useful in wide cars because it stays within the car's wheelbase. This is especially useful in tight parking spaces.
- The hinge is placed in a similar location to a conventional door, so a convertible version of the car is possible with the same door style.
[edit] Disadvantages
- The disadvantage is that the door still impedes access/egress much more than a gullwing and, in some cases, more than a conventional door.
- The manufacture cost of the door hinge can be more than of a conventional door.
- If the height of the parking lot is not high enough, the door may hit the roof.
- In the event of a rollover, emergency egress may be more difficult than with conventional doors.
This type of door is usually used in high-end supercars, especially Lamborghinis, however; it has gained popularity as an aftermarket conversion for less exotic automobiles. Most aftermarket scissor doors are of VLS style (see below).
There are different types of scissor doors, the conventional type rotates to 90 degrees[4]. Scissor doors can be powered, but they aren't always.
VLS doors have a scissor door configuration. The biggest difference is that they are designed to initially open slightly outward before opening upward to allow the top edge of the door to clear the door frame and A-pillar.[1] Although butterfly doors also move upwards and outwards, VLS doors are not butterfly doors, this is because VLS doors move outwards to a very small degree compared to the angle of butterfly doors.[5]
[edit] 130 Degrees
Although conventional scissor doors rotate to 90 degrees, some can rotate up to or to 130 degrees[6]; these are commonly used for modified cars. These have the benefit that they don't obstruct the entrance or exit to the car as much as conventional scissor doors. VLS doors also can rotate to 130 degrees.
[edit] Scissor/Conventional door hybrid
Some aftermarket example scissor doors are also designed so they can open vertically, and horizontally like a conventional car door. These are used so the user can get the benefits of both types of door and open the door in whichever style is best suited to the situation. The disadvantage of this is the substantially higher cost of these hinges. Another disadvantage is that the door can't be powered due to the complex mechanism used for the hinge.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c [1], Automotive door styles.
- ^ [2], Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 on Wikipedia.
- ^ a b [3], Lamborghini on Piston Heads.
- ^ [4], 90 Degree Doors.
- ^ [5], Butterfly doors on Wikipedia.
- ^ [6], 130 Degree doors.