Shy of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, we haven't seen a whole lot in the way of forward-opening doors in recent times. But they're still the nicest way to enter and exit a back seat, and Lincoln has tricked up a limited-edition Continental with them.
Continental would prefer we called them "coach doors," but since the 60s – the era when Lincoln first rolled them out on their luxury saloons and convertibles, folk have been calling them suicide doors. Why? Well, if you get sideswiped while getting out of a roadside door and it's a regular door, you might lose a door and some arm. If you get sideswiped while you're getting out of a coach door, that door's closing on whatever bits of you are poking out.
Such things don't happen all that often, though, and it's definitely nicer to hop in and step out of a back seat through a forward opening door than a rearward one, so they should add a nice elegant feeling for folk being driven in the new Limited Edition 80th Anniversary Continental.
The car has been extended six inches in the wheelbase to accommodate those doors and make the back row a first class space, including its own armrest and center console, complete with climate and music controls.
The interior is all leather, and looks lovely. And it should be a decent car to drive, too, with a 400-horsepower, 3-liter twin turbo V6 engine delivering 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft (542 Nm) of torque.
Only 80 will be made for 2019, with the possibility of more in 2020, and Lincoln is open for orders now. No pricing has been announced.
Source: Lincoln
Shy of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, we haven't seen a whole lot in the way of forward-opening doors in recent times. But they're still the nicest way to enter and exit a back seat, and Lincoln has tricked up a limited-edition Continental with them.
Continental would prefer we called them "coach doors," but since the 60s – the era when Lincoln first rolled them out on their luxury saloons and convertibles, folk have been calling them suicide doors. Why? Well, if you get sideswiped while getting out of a roadside door and it's a regular door, you might lose a door and some arm. If you get sideswiped while you're getting out of a coach door, that door's closing on whatever bits of you are poking out.
Such things don't happen all that often, though, and it's definitely nicer to hop in and step out of a back seat through a forward opening door than a rearward one, so they should add a nice elegant feeling for folk being driven in the new Limited Edition 80th Anniversary Continental.
The car has been extended six inches in the wheelbase to accommodate those doors and make the back row a first class space, including its own armrest and center console, complete with climate and music controls.
The interior is all leather, and looks lovely. And it should be a decent car to drive, too, with a 400-horsepower, 3-liter twin turbo V6 engine delivering 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft (542 Nm) of torque.
Only 80 will be made for 2019, with the possibility of more in 2020, and Lincoln is open for orders now. No pricing has been announced.
Source: Lincoln
Suicide doors were also common in pre-WW2 vehicles. When I was a kid, a friend of my parents described surviving an open-door incident. Serious road rash.
Also, however real the hazard is, why the term "suicide?" I'm guessing again here, but I suppose the term is used even when someone willfully does something hazardous without intent to harm themselves. By so doing, they may be accused of being suicidal, but was there ever a case where someone willfully did something so dumb? I've heard reports of accidents (as in earlier comment), but "suicide?" That seems harsh.
Dad was a stickler for safety and he had installed seat belts (care of J.C.Whitney & Co, Chicago) in it, so it wasn't a suicide car anyway.
Detroit sure is gritting their teeth with Teslas all over now. They're losing sales, so they go back to a controversial door config and gas guzzling 400hp engines? Give me a break. That's spurring on Tesla X sales.