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New Concept in Door Design

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by pastmaster, Nov 23, 2007.

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  1. pastmaster

    pastmaster Formula Junior

    Feb 5, 2006
    890
    Alma, Michigan USA
    #1 pastmaster, Nov 23, 2007
    I received this video from a lady friend today. It's an amazing concept, but the cost may be too high for other than expensive cars.

    http://www.disappearing-car-door.com/

    Ciao...Paolo
     
  2. flyingboa

    flyingboa Formula 3

    Nov 27, 2003
    1,564
    Italy
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    Eugenio Dalla Rosa
    #2 flyingboa, Nov 23, 2007
    Apart from cost, for a sport car weight could be the real killer...
    Ciao
    Eugenio
     
  3. Far Out

    Far Out F1 Veteran

    Feb 18, 2007
    9,768
    Stuttgart, Germany
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    Florian
    #3 Far Out, Nov 23, 2007
    The concept isn't THAT new, is it? The BMW Z1 had it in a smaller scale back in the 80s: http://www.bmw-z1.com/img/imp-1.jpg

    Anyway - too heavy, to complex, to expensive. Won't have success, I suppose.
     
  4. GTE

    GTE F1 World Champ

    Jun 24, 2004
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    Marnix
    #4 GTE, Nov 23, 2007
    I think it looks cool and if it can´t be a success on a productionscale, it certainly has a chance in costumbuilts.
     
  5. spaghetti_jet

    spaghetti_jet Formula Junior

    Jan 5, 2005
    949
    Europa
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    Bob
    #5 spaghetti_jet, Nov 23, 2007
    I like it as a "show-car" feature, but I wouldn't ride in a car with a door system like that the highway for the simple reason that in any kind of offset front/rear or side impact the door would be jammed.

    These days car manufacturers spend thousands of hours calculating, managing and testing the load paths through the door system to ensure you still have a decent chance of getting out after a crash. I doubt that any meaningful thought in this area has gone into this system despite what they say on their site.

    At least the Z1 was a roadster with a fabric hood that you could get out of with a pen-knife or even a pointy key.

    I think the novelty value would be the last thing on your mind as you sit there trying to get out after a crash, with a power faliure and gas dripping everywhere...
     
  6. Dincenzo

    Dincenzo Formula 3

    Oct 11, 2005
    2,434
    Columbia, SC
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    Adrian
    #6 Dincenzo, Nov 23, 2007
    This particular car was being sold on ebay about three months ago. I believe it went for less than 10K.
     
  7. Qvb

    Qvb F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 9, 2003
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    Newport Beach Ca.
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    John Dixon
    #7 Qvb, Nov 23, 2007
    Notice that the door has virtually no thickness. There are no armrests or any design to the inside door panel.
     
  8. samsaprunoff

    samsaprunoff F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 8, 2004
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    Edmonton, AB Canada
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    Sam Saprunoff
    #8 samsaprunoff, Nov 23, 2007
    Good day all,

    Another point is that there is no mention of being able to open the door manually... What happens if your battery runs down or perhaps fails in an accident?

    Cheers,

    Sam
     
  9. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    18,055
    USA
    #9 f355spider, Nov 23, 2007
    Obviously this is not a new idea or concept, and the reason they have never been used in production is complexity, cost, weight and ground clearance issues, which are all readily apparent.
     
  10. pastmaster

    pastmaster Formula Junior

    Feb 5, 2006
    890
    Alma, Michigan USA
    #10 pastmaster, Nov 23, 2007
    Glad to see all the posts on this idea. If some of you are old enough like me, and remember the early '70, big GM Station Wagons, GM used this principle on the rear tailgates of these cars, where they would act like a "clam-shell," but were too complex and troublesome. Was OK, when it worked.

    Who knows, maybe Leonardo DaVinci, came up with the idea, originally? :)

    Ciao...Paolo
     
  11. Protouring442

    Protouring442 F1 Veteran

    Sep 5, 2007
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    Harriman, TN
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    One Stupid SOB
    #11 Protouring442, Nov 23, 2007

    Coolest station wagons ever built though! Those things could swallow an amazing amount of cargo!

    Shiny Side Up!
    Bill
     
  12. LetsJet

    LetsJet F1 Veteran
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    May 24, 2004
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    Mr.
    #12 LetsJet, Nov 23, 2007
    I wonder how it does in the rain.........
     
  13. davebdave

    davebdave Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Mar 18, 2007
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    Dave W
    #13 davebdave, Nov 24, 2007
    Wouldn't work too well in our Mondial...the window takes a day and a half to go up and down...
     

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