Hyundai may have thought of the smartest door

You get gullwing doors, suicide doors, sliding doors, doors that vanish into the sill (BMW Z1) and conventional doors… and Hyundai has come up with another type, the sliding gullwing door. The Korean automaker has filed for a patent for a door design which would combine both effects and benefits into one package. Kinda takes after Daihatsu’s quirky cube cars which seldom see the light of day.

Hyundai recently revealed sketches of the door on a fairly generic passenger van. The prototype drawing shows how the door could slide fore and aft (as in most vans and MPVs) or open vertically.

Behind its complex and seemingly heavy design (Hyundai does produce its own steel) is a formula that Hyundai’s unique hybrid door design will retain the accessibility of a sliding door in tight spaces but add the vertical element for…well we don’t know. Shade perhaps?

Hyundai has not confirmed how close it is to building a working version but could use the patent to profit from royalties paid by competing industry types. As another barrier to entry the door would need to pass safety tests.

Peter Schreyer must be shaking in his boots.