Gullwing doors: beautiful in design, ugly in execution

Getting in and out? It can be a thing of ugliness, especially as one grows older and less limber.

Case in point would be the BMW i8. It is a spectacularly attractive car. However, getting into it requires a certain contortion one may not appreciate on a regular basis. During a test drive, a primary thought was, geez, I hate getting in and out of this car.

The same thought was true a few years back when driving the stunning Mercedes-Benz SLS. The effort required to duck and drop into the coupe makes you regret not taking yoga.

Neither car, though, would be as stunning without distinctive doors. They are a design touch that imbues them with a sense of “wow” that would be absent with traditional-hinged doors. That’s still an important consideration when spending bags of money to buy a luxury performance coupe.

Karl Brauer, Kelley Blue Book’s senior director, automotive industry insights, knows both the pros and cons of gullwing doors. As he points out, on the plus side, when a door swings up, instead of out, it reduces the parking footprint a car needs. That’s especially handy in tight parking garages.

“Doors that swing out need to be carefully operated to avoid hitting vehicles, walls or other structures while still leaving enough room to enter or exit the cabin,” he said.

Yet there’s a less commonly known aspect of gullwing doors. They can be heavy to operate.

“When a door swings up, it has the potential to be too heavy to operate unless the hinges are designed to manage the weight or the doors are made of lightweight material. This introduces additional cost and complexity, and more parts inherently means more potential for parts failure,” Brauer said.

Tesla is finding that out with its recently announced crossover, the Model X, which features gullwing doors in the rear and conventional doors upfront. There have been problems with its gullwing doors, including a last-minute switch to electronics versus hydraulics when problems were encountered. Also, the sensors to keep the doors from banging into walls, cars, etc., are also having problems.

Passenger safety can also be a concern with gullwing doors, he said. People hit their heads on the doors because the doors aren’t in their usual position.

You can customize any car with aftermarket gullwing doors, he said, but it won’[t be cheap. You’re probably looking at at least $1,000 before labor costs, he said.

Gullwing doors are a thing of beauty that make any car instantly stand out. The DeLorean DMC-12 from “Back to the Future” is iconic because of them.