15 CONCEPT CARS WITH INSANELY COOL DOORS
Concept cars have a tendency to be over the top, and that's why we love them. Here are 15 concept cars with insanely cool doors!
It's quite often the case that a concept car is so mind-blowing it's ridiculous. But, for petrolheads like us, there's nothing more captivating. These manifestations of vehicle designers imaginations fuel our desires and make us want to have them.
In this list, we visit 15 times vehicle manufacturers have delivered concept cars with insanely cool doors.
1) Volkswagen GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo
Created by Volkswagen Design to honour 15 years of the Gran Turismo video games, the GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo is a modern interpretation of the venerable Golf GTI. Underneath that menacing exterior, with its 20" wheels, massive rear wing, low-cut windscreen and integrated diffuser, lies a 3.0 twin-turbo VR6 TSI engine. But, it's the intricately sculpted scissor doors that pull this concept together.
2) Renault Trezor
In 2016, the French car manufactured delivered the Renault Treznor to the world. Not content with producing a gorgeously styled, autonomous concept car with cool doors, the designers opted for a canopy-styled door. Basically, a clamshell that included the hood, windscreen and roof. All of which opened forwards and upwards to offer ingress into the cabin. This also meant that the car had only one visible seam where the top of the vehicle met the bottom. No wonder it immediately won an award.
3) Renault DeZir
Another left-field concept from the same Boulogne-Billancourt based manufacturer is the Renault DeZir. And the doors on this concept are as intriguing as the spelling of its name. You see, the driver's side sports a butterfly door, while the passenger makes use of a suicide butterfly door. According to Renault, this car, with its lusty red paint represents the love portion of life. The other stages include discovering the world, starting a family, working, having fun, and then becoming wise.
4) Pininfarina Sintesi
This vehicle pushed the boundaries of new wireless technology when revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in 2008. It boasted a fuel cell powertrain with motors built into each wheel. This increased the size of the cockpit of this shooting-brake design. But, to really create drama, it has scissor doors up front and suicide scissor doors for the rear passengers.
5) Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR
Drawing inspiration from the movie, Avatar, and working in collaboration with the show's team, Mercedes showcased the Vision AVTR concept at the CES 2020 show. Its aim? To embody "the vision of Mercedes-Benz designers, engineers and trend researchers for mobility in the distant future". Right, well, it is an EV with 350kW's of power, four fully individually controllable motors for all-wheel-drive, and the ability to "crab" sideways at 30 degrees. Oh yes, and it has damn cool glass butterfly doors.
6) Mazda Taiki
The concept team from this Japanese manufacturer went through a "flow" phase. Basically, all of their concepts for a time were based on different flows all around us. 2007s Mazda Taiki is the result of Yin-Yang, in fact, the interior is based on the legendary symbol. The driver's side received an all-black treatment while, you guessed it, the passenger is wrapped in white. The futuristic exterior, including butterfly doors, is inspired by "flowing robes" and has an excellent drag coefficient.
7) Lamborghini Marzal
There was only one Marzal ever created. It was designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone for Ferruccio Lamborghini to consider as a true four-seater for his lineup. An article in Road & Track magazine at the time said it's "A Bertone design so fresh that everything else looks old fashioned." It boasted a silver interior, magnesium wheels and those glazed gullwing doors. At the time, Lamborghini (the man himself), said "The Marzal was not developed as a production car. If you present a car like the Marzal at automobile shows such as Geneva, Turin, and Frankfurt all the magazines report on the first page about it. You would rather spend 100 million lire for building such an automobile which is still less expensive than paying for all the advertising. That would cost almost a billion lire. So it compensates in any case to build such a throwaway car."
8) Ford Evos Concept
This plug-in hybrid four-door grand tourer sports Ford's 2.0 Kinetic design from 2011. That was a decade ago, and it still looks fantastic. It runs a 2.0-litre engine and has an electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. But the stunning quad gullwing doors are what stole the show.
9) Ferrari Modulo
Are you surprised to learn that this vehicle has won numerous awards since its introduction in 1970? Debuting at the Geneva motor show, the Paolo Martin designed Ferrari Modulo wedge included partly covered wheels, an engine cover with 24 holes for cooling, and a mass of glass panels. Yes, yes, all very pretty, but the forward-sliding canopy door was its tour de force.
10) Dodge Charger III
The 50s and 60s were awash with futuristic and eccentric designs from companies looking with optimism to tomorrow. The Dodge Charger III of 1968 was one such design. It boasted a flip-up canopy, including the windscreen, that allowed access to the two bucket seats inside. Not only that, but the sideways-swinging dashboard made things even smoother. And it could accommodate any of Dodge's V8s on offer at the time.
11) Citröen C Metisse
This hybrid five-door 2+2 shooting brake was powered by a 2.7-litre V6 diesel engine and two electric motors. That was impressive for a concept car back in 2006 where it made its appearance at the Paris Motor Show. It wasn't just the tech that wowed the crowds, though. You see, it's striking design and combination of doors – butterfly's upfront and scissors at the rear – made this French beauty the star of the show.
12) Buick Riviera Concept
This was the concept car that delivered Buick's new design language to the world in 2013. It boasted a wireless plug-in hybrid-electric powertrain that showcased the American manufacturer's technologies. Shanghai GM and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center were responsible for the design, though. It had all of today's standard spec, like roof glass, a deployable rear spoiler and daytime running lights. But it was the extravagant gullwing doors that finished off its elegant design.
13) Bertone Ramarro
In 1984, Bertone took a Chevrolet Corvette C4, got rid of everything that wasn't part of the drivetrain, and got to work on the Ramarro – the Italian term for "green lizard". On the inside, it received a single-piece seat with a hump in the middle and covered in green leather, a rotary dial for the gear selector. The exterior kept the Corvette's cabin-back style but crafted into a wedge of crisp lines. The forward-sliding doors, though, were a wicked extra feature.
14) Audi RSQ
Will Smith's 2004 blockbuster, iRobot, was set in 2035 Chicago. These futuristic times called for a futuristic vehicle, so Audi delivered the RSQ. Think of it as the Audi TT the director thought our grandkids would be driving. It was sleek, featured spheres instead of wheels and a pair of reverse-opening butterfly doors. Yes, it was insanely cool in the movie.
15) Alfa Romeo Pandion
The ultra-cool Alfa Romeo Pandion glided onto the stage of the Geneva Motor Show in 2010. It was a tribute to the Italian company's centennial, and it was a show-stopper. Based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, it had a 450hp 4.7-litre V8 for power. The interior for four looked like a sexy coral reef. On the outside, the suicide-scissor doors encompassed both the front and rear fender. Basically, the entire side of this concept would rotate backwards and open up to 90 degrees. A sight to behold if there ever was one.
So there you have it, 15 concept cars with insanely cool doors. As we look forward to the future and what it may hold, let's not forget these gems from the past that took concept car design to the next level.
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