[DML] History of Gull Wing Cars

["birdwell77095" <birdwells@xxxxxxx>]

Last summer, "Classic & Sport Car" magazine published in Great 
Britain had an article titled "Flights of Fancy". The article 
featured ten cars with gullwing doors plus another ten odd entries. 
Most of these cars were not mass produced. The ten main cars (in 
order) were:
1. Mercedes-Benz 300SL ? Developed from the 1952 Le Mans and Carrera 
PanAmericana winner. Years later the car was back with the Wankel 
rotary powered C111.
2. BMW Z9 ? a four seater coupe powered by a diesel V-8.
3. Delorean DMC 12 ? the article calls it  a "monumental cock-
up . . . and the Douvrin V6 struggled to haul its heavy stainless 
steel-clad shell with any vigor."
4. GMC L'Universelle ? Unveiled in 1955 as a proposal for a delivery 
vehicle. Had a Pontiac V8 front wheel drive.
5. Ital Design Tapiro ? This 1970 work of Giorgetto Giugiaro had gull 
wing doors over the cabin and engine. It had a 2.4 liter 220bhp flat 
six engine.
6. Borg-Warner CRV ? Unveiled in 1966 the Cycolac Research Vehicle 
was built of thermoplastics except for engine, wheels and steering 
column. A special version was built and used in the "Man From 
U.N.C.L.E." TV series.
7. Lamborghini TP200 Marzal ? It was based upon a Miura chassis with 
a rear-mounted 2 liter slant 6 engine. This came out about 1967.
8. Aston Martin Bulldog ? this car had a mid-mounted twin turbo that 
allowed it to go nearly 200 mph. It had a tubular chassis. The writer 
states "Aston MD Mike Loasby, who initiated the Bulldog project, left 
Newport Pagnell to flog another dead gull with John Delorean."
9. Ferrari 250 P5 ? Appearing in 1968, this car had a rear engine 
400bhp 3 liter V12.
10. Mazda AZ-1 This was a Japanese `K-Car' powered by a rear mounted 
657 cc triple.

Other gull wings were Bricklin SV1, Imp-based Mirage K18, Toohey 2E, 
Pellandini Sports Coupe, Astra Coupe X-Treme and Dare DZ.

Other odd mentions: Bertone `Zero', Ikenga McLaren CanAm racer, 
Ferrari PF Modulo, BMW Isetta, Nova, Toyota Sera, Bond Bug, Sbarro 
Challenge, BMW Z1, Messerschmitt KR200.

The writer did not like the Deloreans and didn't even bother putting 
a picture of the car in the article although he did have a BTTF 
poster in it.

Shannon Birdwell
Houston




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