A car door offers access to the interior and protects you from falling out while in motion. Although most cars have regular doors, some come with only one. Perhaps you’re now wondering what those cars with a single door are.
Most cars have front and rear doors. However, some, such as the Koenigsegg Agera RS,
Saab Aero X and Autozam AZ-1 have only one door. These vehicles come with various door styles, including RAPTOR, front-hinged, and butterfly.
Most cars have front doors and rear doors. However, some car makers decided to give their vehicles only one door. Regular cars usually come with standard doors, while the single door is preserved for supercars.
Types Of Single Car Door
Before discovering which cars have a single door, it’s better to understand their variations. These may depend on how they open, attach to the car, or the image they create on opening.
Scissor Door
Marcella Gandini designed this door in 1968 for Alfa Romeo and is famous for Lamborghini cars. The door has a hinge on the vehicle frame. It has a scissor joint on the top corner for opening the door vertically from 90 to 130 degrees.
Sticking out makes a scissor door much safer. You can park in tight corners and still get in and out of the car freely. A driver can lean and see behind the car when backing up. However, the hinges of this door are very expensive to make.
Butterfly Door
This door is hinged on top of the door frame front corner. Butterfly doors don’t open at a vertical arc. Its hinge opens the door outward. The door requires less clearance than regular doors and offers better access to the interior.
High-performance cars usually have butterfly doors designed to replace regular ones. Butterfly doors rely on auto door glides to allow unassisted opening and closing. These doors require a higher ceiling to open appropriately, and escaping when the car flips are challenging.
RAPTOR Door
Recoil Actuated Pivoting Torsion Orbital Retractor (RAPTOR) has a complex design that allows pulling away from the car. It then pivots upwards to the front until the door becomes parallel to the vehicle and perpendicular to the ground.
The door has a recoil-actuated mechanism for ease of access and special access to the cabin. A handy gas spring ensures the door remains open. This door can be affixed at three points, and its vertical door clearance may have limitations.
Canopy Door
Inspired by jet fighter cockpits, the canopy door has the side windows, windshield, and roof in one unit. The canopy is attached to several hinge points, allowing it to rise vertically so the side or slide forward. Canopy doors are cool and have a continuous wraparound window for unlimited visibility.
These doors work like greenhouses, and getting in or out seems awkward. Escaping when the car overturns will require breaking the canopy. Additionally, there needs to be a way to keep the cabin dry when the weather is good.
Front Hinged Door
The crazy design had the whole car front on a hinge. Its steering, dashboard, and front would open to let the driver and passenger inside the car. Getting inside a car with a front-hinged door would require more forward clearing in parking.
Falcon Wing Door
A car with a falcon wing door, also known as a gull wind door, featured in Back To The Future. Franchise. Jean Bugatti created this door in 1939, inspired by seagull wings. The door’s hinges are on the roof for it to arc out and up. Access inside is without side clearance compared to a conventional door.
Mercedes S.L.S. added explosive hinges to the door for escape if the car rolled on its roof. However, this single door is not compatible with convertible vehicles. This door inspired the Chevy Camaro Z28 in the 1980s cartoon M.A.S.K. to be modified with gull-wing doors giving it the power to fly.
Dihedral Door
It is among the most common single doors for cars on the market. This door is hinged to open outwards up at 90 degrees angle. Getting in and out is easy. However, the door is made from pricey material prone to damage when scraping on a high curb.
Pocket Door
Among the rarest single doors on a car, this kind of sliding door is usually for delivery vehicles. A pocket door works like a sliding door on a house. It slides into a cavity but not outside. Delivery cars have sliding doors. It’s very hard to see a car with a pocket door today.
Our List Of Cars That Have Only One Door.
Here’s our long-awaited list of cars with only one door.
BMW Isetta
Renowned worldwide for its unique style and size, the BMW Isetta is the first car with a single door on our list. The car was produced in Germany from 1955 up to 1962. Only 161,000 units were manufactured with various modifications and enhancements.
The car was designed in Italy as Iso Isetta but produced in Germany.
Koenigsegg Agera R.S.
The vehicle is packed with impressive features, a 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8, and accelerates from 0 to 186mph in just 14 seconds. Its cool doors are dihedral synchro-helix actuated. This car has more horsepower, top speeds, and acceleration than Lamborghini or Ferrari.
Only 22 units were to be produced for this car, but another two were manufactured. One was a factory development car, while the other was for a replacement in case one for a customer got damaged during shakedown testing.
Cadillac Ciel
The fantastic car has reverse hanging doors that today symbolize elegance and luxury in the automotive industry. This car concept has long and low proportions, giving it a classic look. Its French-style single door has nickel-plaited paintwork that accentuates the car’s sweeping lines.
The interior of the Ciel has olive wood and machined aluminum, while cashmere blankets are available for rear passengers. This supercar with a single door is the true definition of super luxury.
Autozam AZ-1
The Autozam AZ-1 is a supercar in a tiny package. Mazda built this car to match Kei car regulations in Japan. This vehicle occupies a tiny footprint with a single door and is built for fun. AZ-1 is about 60% the size of mid-engine supercars.
With gull-winged doors, the car has a faster MazdaSpeed-variant. The car has a lightweight, compact body and reaches about 90 mph. This vehicle was released from October 1992 until 0ctober 1994.
BMW Z1
The 1989-1991 BMW Z1 is the inspiration behind the modern BMW small Roadstar models from Z3 to Z4. This car was the first two-seater roadster with all plastic bodywork to make it lightweight and lower repair costs.
Its flat undertray and exhaust muffler with an aerodynamic design is built to cut drag. The Z1’s disappearing doors looked bizarre. You could even operate them while driving, making them ideal for people who prefer using hand signals.
Saab Aero X
The concept vehicle from the Swedish car maker was launched at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. This stylish grand tourer was among the most impressive exhibits for its aircraft-style cockpit canopy. Its carbon fiber body had a monocoque structure with an engine that ran on sustainable biofuel.
This concept vehicle had the features of a grand tourer with small overhangs, a long bonnet, and pronounced wheel arches. The canopy cockpit was the most outstanding feature offering 180degrees visibility.
Messerschmitt KR200
Fritz Fend, a fabled aircraft producer, designed this car to recover from the slum in aircraft production during the 1950s. The car had three wheels with steel bodywork and strong tubes. Its body had four sections: two sides, a floor, and a firewall.
The bubble car was built at the Messerschmitt aircraft factory in 1953. A new model appeared in 1955 with an airplane-like canopy to access the cabin. Passengers sat in tandem, like in a cockpit, and a pair of motorcycle-like handlebars for steering.
DeLorean DMC-12
The 1980s gave us some iconic cars, but only a few are revered as the DMC-12. This car, launched in 1981, had a fiberglass underbody with a backbone steel chassis. Only 8,583 units were produced from 1981 to 1983, including five plated with 24k gold.
DMC-12 had flamboyant dihedral doors to enhance its street credibility. This car was last seen on the road in 2015. Despite concerns about its poor build quality and unsatisfactory driving experience, it had a strong following. Management and poor timing made this car fail.
Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV
Apart from its outrageous looks, the Aventador’s scintillating engine and massive grip are worth considering. It is over 50mph makes it more than a standard car backed by a higher rev limit with a reprogrammed version of a seven-speed single clutch gearbox.
Conclusion
Most cars have front and rear doors, but some come with just one door. If you’ve been wondering what there are, your list has given you some options. These are from various car makers who gave their units different doors.
