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24-648: Mazda launched its first hydrogen-powered concept car, the HR-X , in 1991. The car was followed by other models, refining their technology over the following decade until the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE of 2003. This car was the first hydrogen-powered rotary-engined vehicle to be offered on a commercial lease in Japan and was used in the Norwegian HyNor project to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen as

48-477: A mild hybrid . Internally, the car was equipped with three rows of seats, with the additional components, including the electric motor and hydrogen storage tanks having limited impact on the internal space. The car was first unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, with a vision to be in showrooms by 2008. An improved version was unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show . This vehicle had a range of different features, not least that although motors were still mounted at

72-510: A claimed range of 200 km (124 mi) on hydrogen and 250 km (155 mi) on petrol. The car was produced in small numbers for demonstration in Japan. The first lease for a Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid started in March 2009. The first car was delivered to Iwatani Corporation on 26 May 2009. By January 2010, the company had leased five vehicles to end users. 2007 prototype image gallery at favcars.com Mazda HR-X The Mazda HR-X

96-400: A full-sized door, and then added a gas-pressurized (pneumatic) strut similar to those found in hatchback cars. The combination of the torsion spring and strut provided the correct torque variation necessary to offset the variable torque of the door, as it opened through a rotational angle of about 80 degrees. The torsion bar is most important in the first foot of movement from the bottom, where

120-424: A production sports car in 1954. Opening upwards, the doors evoke the image of a seagull 's wings . In French, they are portes papillon (butterfly doors). The papillon door was designed by Jean Bugatti for the 1939 Type 64 , 14 years before Mercedes-Benz produced its similar, famous 300 SL gullwing door. The papillon door is a precursor to the gullwing door, and is slightly different in its architecture, but

144-405: A vehicle fuel. Realising the limitations of these smaller vehicles, Mazda developed a hydrogen vehicle based on the successful Premacy compact MPV. Mazda had previously produced the prototype Premacy FCEV in 2001 but this had been powered by a fuel cell . The new model was different and was designed to demonstrate a vehicle that could make hydrogen power mainstream. The drivetrain was taken from

168-529: Is often overlooked when discussing gull-wing design. Conventional car doors are typically hinged at the front-facing edge of the door, with the door swinging outward horizontally. Apart from the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL of the mid-1950s, Mercedes-Benz SLS and the experimental Mercedes-Benz C111 of the early 1970s, the best-known examples of road-cars with gull-wing doors are the Bricklin SV-1 from

192-484: The RX-8 Hydrogen RE and Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid produced in small quantities in 2007. Gull-wing door In the automotive industry, a gull-wing door , also known as a falcon-wing door or an up-door , is a car door that is hinged at the roof rather than the side, as pioneered by Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and was designed by a Maxwell James Harris, first as a race car in 1952 ( W194 ), and then as

216-571: The 1970s, the DMC DeLorean from the 1980s, and the Tesla Model X of the 2010s. Gull-wing doors have also been used in aircraft designs, such as the four-seat single-engine Socata TB series built in France. The design is a very practical one in a tight urban parking space. When properly designed and counterbalanced, they require little side-clearance to open (about 27.5 cm or 11" in

240-469: The DeLorean ) and allow much better entrance/egress than conventional doors. The most obvious downside to having gull-wing doors is that, were the car to roll over and come to rest on its roof, exit by the doors would be impossible, requiring a large windscreen opening to escape. The Mercedes SLS solved this problem by fitting explosive bolts in the hinges, that would blow up if the car rolled over, causing

264-565: The Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE but had a 40% increase in power and increased range. Power was provided by a two rotor REGENESIS Wankel engine of 1,308 cc (79.8 in) capacity combined with a 30 kW (40 hp) electric motor. Energy was stored in a petrol tank, hydrogen storage tank and nickel metal hydride battery , and the front mounted engine drove the front wheels. The battery was recharged by regenerative braking and provided some power to increase acceleration as in

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288-599: The Mercedes and the Bricklin. The 300 SL needed the door design, as its tubular frame race car chassis design had a very high door sill, which in combination with a low roof would make a standard door opening very low and small. The Mercedes engineers solved the problem by also opening a part of the roof. The Bricklin was a more conventionally sized door but the actuation system was problematic in day-to-day use and led to unreliable operation until an aftermarket air-door upgrade

312-475: The backfiring problems that beset previous attempts to run hydrogen in combustion engines. 37 Nm3 (3.32 kg (7.3 lb)) of hydrogen was stored in a metal hydride tank that was refuelled by a single nozzle alongside water for cooling. The engine was connected to the wheels via a 4 speed automatic transmission , while a KERS-like system called Active Torque Control System (ACTS) was used to recover braking energy and reuse it to improve acceleration. The car

336-481: The door to fall off altogether. The Volvo YCC , a concept car designed by and for women, had gull-wing doors as part of its design. Gull-wing doors make it easier to lift a bag to store it behind the driver's seat, increase visibility over the driver's shoulder, and make it easier to get in and out of the car. The Tesla Model X, introduced in 2015, has double-hinged gull-wing doors, called falcon-wing doors by Tesla. The Model X has several design considerations to make

360-429: The doors more practical. Being double-hinged allows them to open with less clearance (horizontal and vertical) than would otherwise be required. The vehicle also has sensors to determine ceiling height and the presence of potential obstacles and to determine how the hinges will operate to open the doors and avoid obstacles, if possible. Gull-wing doors have a somewhat questionable reputation because of early examples like

384-506: The engine produced 154 kW (207 hp) and 222 N⋅m (164 lbf⋅ft) torque at the same engine speed. The battery was also updated to a lithium model and power increased to 110 kW (148 hp). The battery was not designed to be a major energy source, providing limited range, but the car was fitted with an external plug for recharging. The 2007 car was capable of a maximum speed of 140 km/h (87 mph) and could accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 10 seconds. It had

408-567: The front, drive was to the rear. Similarly, rather than use a gearbox, drive was through the electric motor, creating a series hybrid vehicle drivetrain . The hydrogen tank stored 2.4 kg (5.3 lb) hydrogen at 350 bar (35,000 kPa), while the petrol tank had a capacity of 60 L (13 imp gal; 16 US gal). While running on hydrogen, the Wankel engine produced 110 kW (148 hp) and up to 140 N⋅m (103 lbf⋅ft) torque at 5000 rpm. While running on petrol,

432-402: The geometry of the strut is pointed at the hinge and therefore at a mechanical disadvantage. As the spring relaxes through the door's rotation open, the strut gains a better moment arm and gradually takes over the effort. A correctly balanced door opens fully on its own by simply activating the door latch from the interior, exterior, or from an aftermarket wireless release. Other disadvantages of

456-435: The system were not so easy to address. For example, the gull-wing design makes creating a convertible version of the car harder, as the hinges would be removed with the roof, and standard doors would be needed for the convertible. Mercedes did so when replacing the gullwing coupe altogether with the 300SL roadster in 1958. It was never a concern for DeLorean, since no convertible version was ever planned. It also makes sealing

480-648: Was capable of a top speed of 130 km/h (81 mph) and had a range of 190 km (120 mi). A single example of the HR-X was displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1991 and then in New York in 1992. However, it was not ready for production and no more were produced. The car was superseded by the more conventional HR-X 2 a year later, the next in line of a number of Wankel-powered hydrogen-fuelled vehicles developed by Mazda. The lineage culminated in

504-416: Was constructed of plastic and designed to be nearly completely recyclable. The car was 3,850 mm (151.6 in) long and 1,700 mm (66.9 in) wide, with a maximum height of 1,450 mm (57.1 in). Weight was 1,260 kilograms (2,778 lb). The car was powered by a two rotor Wankel engine that produced 100 hp (75 kW) mounted in the rear. The Wankel engine was chosen as it solved

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528-451: Was installed in all Bricklins. In addition, there was some concern that in making the doors as light as possible they wouldn't provide adequate protection in side-impact accidents. There was, however, no indication that this concern was justified. The DeLorean solved these problems by using a patented cryogenically set stainless steel torsion bar spring (manufactured by Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation ) to partially counterbalance

552-405: Was the first hydrogen powered concept car produced by Mazda . The car was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1991. The car seated four people in a plastic shell and was powered by a two rotor Wankel engine which propelled it to 130 km/h (81 mph). The hydrogen was stored in a cooled metal hydride tank and 3.32 kilograms (7.3 lb) provided a range of 190 km (120 mi). It

576-463: Was the first in a series of demonstration hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles produced by Mazda. The Mazda HR-X was a small concept car developed by Mazda a their plant in Aki District, Hiroshima to showcase the use of hydrogen fuel as a possible environmentally friendly alternative for automotive transport. The cabin accommodated four people who entered via gull-wing doors . It

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