Asuicide door is anautomobile door hinged at its rear rather than the front.[1] Such doors were originally used onhorse-drawncarriages[2] but are rarely found on modern vehicles, primarily because they are less safe than front-hinged doors.
If the vehicle were moving and the rear-hinged door opened, aerodynamic drag would force the door open, and the person would have to lean out of the vehicle to reach the handle to close it. As seat belts were not commonly used at that time, the person could easily fall out of the car and into traffic, hence the name "suicide door".[3][4] Another risk was from a car speeding past the parked car in the same direction. A front-hinged door would tend to be ripped off the parked car, but someone partly outside it might escape injury if they were not directly in the path of the speeding car. In contrast, a rear-hinged door would be forced shut, striking the person.
Initially standard on many models, they later also became popularized as a modification oncustom cars.[5]Automobile manufacturers call the doorscoach doors (Rolls-Royce),[4]flexdoors (Vauxhall),[6]freestyle doors (Mazda),[4]rear access doors (Saturn),[4]clamshell doors (BMW), or simplyback-hinged doors.[1]
Rear-hinged doors were common on cars manufactured in the first half of the 20th century,[1] including the iconicCitroën Traction Avant. In the era beforeseat belts, the accidental opening of such doors meant that there was a greater risk of falling out of the vehicle compared to front-hinged doors, where airflow pushed the doors closed rather than opening them further.[4]
Rear-hinged doors were especially popular with mobsters in thegangster era of the 1930s, supposedly owing to the ease of pushing passengers out of moving vehicles with the air around the moving car holding the door open, according to Dave Brownell, the former editor ofHemmings Motor News.[4]
AfterWorld War II, rear-hinged doors were mostly limited to rear doors of four-doorsedans. The best-known use of rear-hinged doors on post-World War II American automobiles was theLincoln Continental 4-door convertibles and sedans (1961–1969),Cadillac Eldorado Brougham (1956–1959) four-door sedans, andFord Thunderbird (1967–1971) four-door sedans.[4] The BritishRover P4 used rear-hinged doors at the rear. GermanGoggomobil saloons and coupes had two-door bodies with rear-hinged doors until 1964.[7] The French, hand-madeFacel Vega Excellence offered a four-door hardtop with a Chrysler-sourced Hemi V8 beginning in 1954.
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In 2003, the newRolls-Royce Phantom car reintroduced independent rear-hinged doors in luxury vehicle applications. Other luxury models with rear-hinged doors include theSpyker D8 and theRolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe four-seat convertible. The most recent mass-produced model with such doors may be theOpel Meriva,[8] followed by theRolls-Royce Cullinan in 2018, and a few Chinese electric vehicles including theSingulato iS6 in 2018 andHiPhi X in 2020.[9][10] Lincoln announced that 80 limited-edition 2019 Continentals would be made with "coach" doors, marking the Continental's 80th anniversary.[11] The 2020Citroen Ami electric vehicle is unusual in having a suicide door for the driver but a conventional door for the passenger, as the doors are identical units that are not differentiated by side.
In the early 2000s, rear-hinged rear doors that are held closed by the front doors, and cannot be opened until released by opening the front door on the same side (hinged at the front), have appeared on a number of vehicles. Such doors may be referred to asclamshell doors. Examples includeextended-cab pickup trucks, theSaturn SC,Saturn Ion Quad Coupe,Honda Element,Toyota FJ Cruiser,BMW i3,Mini Cooper Clubman,Mazda RX-8,Mazda MX-30[1] andFiat 500 3+1.[12]
Rear passenger rear-hinged doors had long been used onAustin FX4London taxis, discontinued on their successors theTX1,TXII andTX4, but reintroduced in the 2018LEVC TX.
Severalconcept cars have featured rear-hinged doors, such as theLincoln C, ahatchback with no B-pillar and rear-hinged doors at the rear, or theCarbon Motors Corporation E7, apolice car with rear rear-hinged doors designed to aidofficers gettinghandcuffed passengers in and out of the back seat. TheKia Naimo, anelectric concept car, also has rear suicide doors.[13]
Other car manufacturers which have produced models with suicide doors includeCitroën,Lancia, Opel,Panhard,Rover,Saab,Saturn,Škoda,Studebaker,Ferrari,Mazda andVolkswagen.
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Rear-hinged doors make entering and exiting a vehicle easier, allowing a passenger to enter by turning to sit and exit by stepping forward and out. This is important for passengers who need to make a dignified entrance; the UKState Bentley has rear-opening passenger doors that are broader than usual and open very wide, allowing the monarch to exit the car in a dignified way.[14]
In combination with traditional front doors, rear-hinged doors allow chauffeurs easier access to the rear door. InAustin FX4 taxis, drivers were able to reach the rear exterior door handle through the driver's window without getting out of the vehicle.[15]
Rear-hinged doors also allow a better position for a person installing a child seat into the back seat of a vehicle than conventional doors, while being simpler and cheaper to build than thesliding doors commonly used onminivans. TheOpel Meriva Bcompact MPV introduced in 2010 had such doors.[citation needed]
The combination of front-hinged front doors and rear-hinged rear doors allows for a design without theB-pillar, creating a large opening for entering and exiting the vehicle.
When front doors are directly adjacent to rear suicide doors, exiting and entering the vehicle can be awkward if people try to use the front and back doors at the same time.
There are also a number of safety hazards:
Car manufacturers mitigate these hazards with such safety features as seat belts, and locks requiring front-hinged doors be open before permitting rear-hinged doors to open.[5]
