Gull Wing Doors

Gull Wing doors were introduced by Mercedes in their 1952 SL300 race car and then integrated into the road legal version of the same car in 1954. Gull Wing doors are basically hinged to the roof of the car instead of the sides. Since then they have featured in many cars, most notably the Delorean DMC-12 of the Back to the Future series.

Even though they give the car character, they are extremely impractical. First of all, if one is sitting inside a car and tries to close the doors, and if by chance they happen to be less than eight feet tall, they wont be able to reach the door handle. Secondly, when a person does arrive at their destination, they will look like a massive pillock getting out of the car and thirdly, if the car rolls over. the people inside will be unable to get out of the car. Today, the Gull Wing doors can be found in the Mercedes SLS. Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear BBC did a review of the car and said that the doors "heavy, unnecessary, embarrassing, bombs!". Therefore, Gull Wing doors, definitely a startling example of bad design! The full video can be seen here!