The gullwing door originated with the Mercedes-Benz 300SL however has been copied a number of occasions. This time it is Ford that’s considering gullwing doorways for future automobiles.
First noticed by Motor1, a Ford patent software title « facet door for a car » was revealed by the USA Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) Apr. 20, 2023 after being filed in October 2021. It describes a brand new sort of gullwing door design, with an SUV used as an instance it.
Ford gullwing door patent picture
The Tesla Model X options the automaker’s personal model of gullwing doorways, which it calls falcon doorways, however Ford’s idea is a bit totally different. The place the Mannequin X has standard entrance doorways and rear falcon doorways, the patent software exhibits one huge gullwing door for the passenger’s facet of the car, with a standard door for the driving force.
This uneven association seems to be a consequence of the door’s form. The Mannequin X has a number of hinged sections that permit its doorways to open kind of straight up. Ford’s model solely hinges alongside the roof centerline, making a clamshell form that includes a part of the roof into the door.
Ford gullwing door patent picture
One potential good thing about a gullwing door design for SUVs is a much bigger opening, making it simpler for passengers to get out and in. The drawings additionally seem to indicate the movable in-vehicle table from one other current Ford patent submitting, a mix that might make for an excellent tailgating setup.
As with all patent purposes, although, there isn’t any assure that this gullwing door design will attain manufacturing. If nothing else, the {hardware} for such a door would in all probability be fairly advanced, which might trigger reliability points. That is one thing Tesla discovered the laborious means with its setup (which could clarify why they have been restricted to the Mannequin X), as did DeLorean and Bricklin with their gullwing sports activities automobiles earlier than it.
