Jul 10 20071993 Lincoln Mark VIII Rolling Door Concept Car
The 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII Rolling Door Concept Car was designed back in 1993 but never made it to the market because, well, it's ridiculous. Basically instead of opening, the door just disappears into the car. There's an eBay sale of it going on (right now at $19,000) and according to their description:
"Lincoln executives were concerned about the heavy and wide doors on the Mark VIII in the early 1990's especially in large cities with tight parking spots. They were toying with the idea of a Mark VIII that had doors that disappeared beneath the car which would require no additional space for the doors to swing open in order to allow the occupant to exit or enter. Back in the day, the major auto makers would sub-contract their concept designs to other engineering firms who specialiazed in auto concepts and executions. In this particular case, this Lincoln Mark VIII was shipped over to Joalto Design Inc. near Detroit...who created this amazing, one of a kind concept car and shipped it back to Lincoln for executive approval...Unfortunately, the Ford Motor Company executives did not like the design and ordered the car (and the concept) to be sent to the junkyard and destroyed. The current owner had been tracking this car for nearly 20 years and finally convinced the previous owner to part with it."
Check out the video of the car in action after the jump. It will blow your mind.
Related Stories
Disappearing Car Doors: Sure, Why Not? (12/20/2007)
Sure, Why Not?: Driving Around In A Half-Car (11/01/2009)
I See You!: Lexus LF-A Crystallised Wind (10/23/2009)
Frightening: Conceptual Solar Powered BMW (10/02/2009)
Kid Showing Off His Parallel Parking Skills (08/18/2009)
Reader Comments
1. elliott - July 10, 2007 12:08 PM
nice.
1st?
2. none - July 10, 2007 12:09 PM
that's soooo bad ass it's not even funny. though, i wonder what happens if you accidentaly open the door in a bad rain storm, or snow storm, or just driving.
3. Cw - July 10, 2007 12:26 PM
That looks very smooth, but I've heard that the electrical problems with that type of door are massive. BMW had essentailly same idea five years ahead of this with their Z1 roadster. I don't know if it ever made it to the us
4. Smartass - July 10, 2007 12:36 PM
This would actually be a great idea for the elderly or handicapped...
wait-a-minute...did I just make a positive comment about something... noooooooo!
5. BobTheMul - July 10, 2007 12:45 PM
Finally, Bo and Luke Duke have the car that gives them the satisfaction of never having to open a car door and is easy on their age riddled arthritic joints.
G,g,g,go get em Flash!
6. KRiPPeR - July 10, 2007 1:01 PM
If I'm in a car and suddenly someone does that, I'll probably shit myself.
7. Rocko Solido - July 10, 2007 1:02 PM
This would make carefully timed bank robbery get-aways much smoother...
not to mention kidnappings!
8. Tall Face - July 10, 2007 1:21 PM
man, thats gay....and by gay, i mean really, REALLY gay. (no homo)
9. Joe Mamma - July 10, 2007 1:24 PM
It is pretty sweet but the interior of the door looks like just a crapy piece of vinyl. Plus I don't think the door is very sturdy or could hold up to any type of crash impact.
10. sir denie - July 10, 2007 1:43 PM
wow
11. zdfgxd - July 10, 2007 1:46 PM
That'd be awesome to drive with the doors down.
12. The Ninja Trebuchet - July 10, 2007 2:22 PM
F*** you Ford, for not bringing that to market. I'm going to go cut off the doors of some Lincolns in protest.
13. Amy - July 10, 2007 2:29 PM
Tracking it for nearly 20 years? Someone really doesn't know how to do basic math. I could give him 100 pennies for that car and he'd be like "Woo hoo sucker, I'm a millionaire now!"
14. Ed Said - July 10, 2007 2:47 PM
Can you get out after the car accident? Cuz I bet any fender-bender to the door with lock it in place. But it is cool as hell tho, so I'd take my chances. They should have this on some high end sports cars; it would look appropriate there.
15. Joe Mamma - July 10, 2007 2:50 PM
Amy, what the hell are you talking about?
16. Ed Said - July 10, 2007 2:51 PM
Oh yeah, I also wouldn't mind seeing what happens to a person who is trying to get out of the car the moment that door activates and starts coming up. I bet it gets you from below and you won't even see it coming.
17. Balls Of Steel - July 10, 2007 3:17 PM
That's one slow ass Transformer.
18. berlinmassive - July 10, 2007 3:43 PM
ok, theres a few stupidities to this, it seems:
1. on a 10 point scale, the people in the back have negative 2 foot room
2. 20 years really makes no sense at all
3. who tracks a car for that long and then sells it on ebay right away?
4. why didnt they make it roll out a red carpet to each side?
19. fruitdioxide - July 10, 2007 3:50 PM
It kinda sucks to have to wait for the windows to scroll down every time you open the doors.
>.>
20. supercheese - July 10, 2007 3:52 PM
take that delorean!
21. Hirudin - July 10, 2007 5:19 PM
@Joe Mamma
Current year: 2007
20 years ago: 1987
Car designed in: 1993
Sounds like 14 years to me.
22. Hirudin - July 10, 2007 5:22 PM
@Joe Mamma
Current year: 2007
20 years ago: 1987
Car designed in: 1993
Sounds like 14 years to me.
It's like Peter Griffin: "My dad's worked at that mill for 60 years. That's almost 80 years!"
23. michelleeee - July 10, 2007 5:40 PM
wthell? The driver's side doesn't even work. -__-
So every time I want to drive somewhere, I have to climb in through the passenger side. Greeeeat.
24. wd-40 - July 10, 2007 8:01 PM
Yea, but how's that gonna help you when you miss that "Beware of Dog" sign?
WIth a slow ass door like that you're as good as dead.
25. betch - July 10, 2007 11:21 PM
if it closed super fast you could kill your enemies with it.
just lure in your arch nemesis' with something shiny and valuable and then when they're halfway into the car you close the door. either slicing them into two or just trapping them in an uncomfortable position. either way it's the ultimate revenge.
26. M - July 10, 2007 11:42 PM
I'd hate to get caught in the rain with that. I'd be staring at door screaming "GO GO GO GO!"
But it sure as hell looks cool enough.
27. SuperStoned420 - July 11, 2007 2:31 AM
The Delorean would look really good with doors like that, without that vinyl crap though. A few tweaks to the system and it'd be faster and look completely awesome.
28. Phil - July 11, 2007 7:47 AM
How do you get in your car if the battery dies?
29. supadupa - July 11, 2007 12:18 PM
@ #25
lmao! XD
30. James - July 11, 2007 9:21 PM
When I worked at GM design in 1998 we had that VERY Lincoln in our studio for 'inspiration' just because it was crazy. We used to open and close that door over and over and over . What you don't see is that when the door is open, there is 0 room under the car. If there were a rock under the car, it would leave a nice big scratch down the side of the door.
31. PJ - July 12, 2007 9:49 PM
I just saw it on Ebay & thought that the story was full of holes (the math, for one). I'm curious to know why Ford scrapped it? Was it because of no clearance underneath like James said? (BTW - that's probably what happened to the drivers door - did you see that ding?) Was it because a door that was made to act like an accordion would probably collapse like one on impact like Jo Mamma & Ed implied? Was it because the guy that wrote the Ebay ad couldn't get any of his "facts" right & Ford never knew it "left the building"? (What was the deal about "tracking" it, anyway? Was it stolen & being passed from fence to fence? ) ..... or was it something more sinister ... he he he
32. ben - July 14, 2007 7:36 AM
@
28. Phil - July 11, 2007 7:47 AM
How do you get in your car if the battery dies?
Why would you get in the car if the battery is dead?
33. ben - July 14, 2007 7:37 AM
@
28. Phil - July 11, 2007 7:47 AM
How do you get in your car if the battery dies?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why would you get in the car if the battery is dead?
34. Danix - July 16, 2007 2:37 AM
Reminds my of my old transformer toys.
Yeah pushign the car doors under the car is the easy part now try pulling his legs out from his trunk and trying to get his head and arms pop out of the hood, very frustrating
35. Tw1sted - July 16, 2007 9:21 AM
THAT IS TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL!! but i wouldnt buy it... seems like theres one good things and a billion bad things...
36. tecwzrd - July 16, 2007 3:26 PM
My mini van does that but sideways (both side doors and back), is crash safe, and is 3 times lager and seats that fold into the floor (Dodge Grand Caravan). All for about the current ebay price ($25k) lol
37. Ryan Thompson - January 28, 2008 8:59 AM
Cool ^_^ Till it gets stuck in the down position. :(
38. The Chort - March 11, 2009 8:44 PM
Last!
39. Flubber - October 17, 2009 10:25 PM
@38
FAIL!!
40. Judith V - May 16, 2010 3:15 PM
This is awesome I need this on my mail run. How much does it cost?
41. oscar - November 2, 2010 10:32 PM
That's a pretty nice concept.
42. Luther - November 2, 2010 10:35 PM
I can't believe that Ford Motor Company just throw the car door design just easily without giving it a try in a market or creating some few samples.