Lincoln announced that 80 limited-edition 2019 Continentals would be made with "coach" doors, marking the Continental's 80th anniversary. The most recent mass-produced model with such doors may be the Opel Meriva, followed by the Rolls-Royce Cullinan in 2018, and a few Chinese electric vehicles including the Singulato iS6 in 2018 and HiPhi X in 2020. Other luxury models with rear-hinged doors include the Spyker D8 and the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe four-seat convertible. In 2003, the new Rolls-Royce Phantom car reintroduced independent rear-hinged doors in luxury vehicle applications. The French, hand-made Facel Vega Excellence offered a four-door hardtop with a Chrysler-sourced Hemi V8 beginning in 1954. German Goggomobil saloons and coupes had two-door bodies with rear-hinged doors until 1964. The British Rover P4 used rear-hinged doors at the rear. The best-known use of rear-hinged doors on post-World War II American automobiles was the Lincoln Continental 4-door convertibles and sedans (1961–1969), Cadillac Eldorado Brougham 1956–1959 four-door sedans, and Ford Thunderbird 1967–1971 four-door sedans. Īfter World War II, rear-hinged doors were mostly limited to rear doors of four-door sedans. Rear-hinged doors were especially popular with mobsters in the gangster era of the 1930s, supposedly owing to the ease of pushing passengers out of moving vehicles with the air around the moving car holding the door open, according to Dave Brownell, the former editor of Hemmings Motor News. In the era before seat belts, the accidental opening of such doors meant that there was a greater risk of falling out of the vehicle compared to front-hinged doors, where airflow pushed the doors closed rather than opening them further. Rear-hinged doors were common on cars manufactured in the first half of the 20th century, including the iconic Citroën Traction Avant. Note that all four doors are connected to the B-pillars. History The Fiat 600 Multipla with front suicide doors, right side doors open. Automobile manufacturers call the doors coach doors ( Rolls-Royce and Lincoln), flexdoors ( Opel), freestyle doors ( Mazda), rear access doors ( Saturn), or simply describe them as rear-hinged doors. Initially standard on many models, later they became popularized in the custom car trade. As seat belts were not in common use at that time, the risk of falling out of the car and into traffic was high, hence the name "suicide door". Being rear-hinged, if the vehicle was moving and the door opened, the driver/passenger would have to lean forward and out of the vehicle to close it. Such doors were originally used on horse-drawn carriages, but are rarely found on modern vehicles, primarily because they are perceived as being less safe than a front-hinged door. Automobile door hinged at its opposite side rather than the front A suicide door on a Delahaye Type 135 Lincoln Continental with rear suicide doors, left side doors openĪ suicide door is an automobile door hinged at its rear rather than the front.
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