Possibly the lamest car ever be used as a concept piece.

i think that the folding action at least from the outside looks freakin awesome, too bad it doesn't allow for armrests

I'll take a BMW Z1, thanks.

Oooooh... magic doors.

It could just be me but that's rad.

It would be pretty cool until the motor breaks and you're stuck inside.

How do you track a 14 year old car for nearly 20 years?

awesome! cant wait to see the local off-panel crxs with this system. god knows ive already seen the skizor door version

The '93 Lincoln Mark VIII featured both a wide chassis and two long rather than four short doors. Small wonder parking in tight spaces would be a problem.

[www.murrayco.com]

Wow, that actually looks like it works really well. Reliable for a production car, prolly not.

Anyone who calls a Mark VIII lame, hasnt driven one. A hot rod in its day, a tire fryer.

It needs one of those big "in case of emergency" handles as found on the exit row of a 737. I don't even like electric windows...this makes me claustrophobic just looking at it.

I love this. My immediate thought was (out loud in my office): GTFO! I want.

A good reason to own the "Life Hammer"! Still I think it's pretty cool.

@osnofla: Look at the front seat...there's armrests built into the seat.

@Heep: 15.

@nytmare: Either way, hardly 20.

Hey! That's the tailgate on my dads old '73 Custom Cruiser wagon. Only sideways.

Practical? no way.
Cool? Hell yes!
That's the kind of thinking that makes this such a great country.

Rather interesting, although I suspect the cost would be astronomical. I'm sure a good designer could figure out a way to make the inner panel look better than what is close to a 1928 Model A in appearance. If one could figure out how to balance the whole affair you could actually make it work without a motor(s).

@danio3834-You're absolutely right about the Mark VIII in its day. I had a prototype that Ford had built to set a stock class land speed record at Bonneville. It ran 187+mph with relatively minor but highly trick modifications. The record stood for nearly seven years.

300+ km/h in a Mark VIII? What kind of minor modifications were those?

What it lacks in reliability, it oozes in coolness.

Can't wait to see a car with lambos, gullwings and whatever the hell you call this. Linkins?

lascauxcaveman: How many times did your old man have to have the gas tank pulled to get the derailed clamshell tailgate back on track? My mom's Pontiac needed that done 3 times in two years. Luckily, the car was totaled by a snow plow before the tailgate disappeared again.

@brandegee-balanced and blueprinted engine and trans, two-piece driveshaft, belly pans, grill baffles, 2.47 rear, narrow tires, no side mirrors, dual straight pipes, full roll cage (painted body color and leather upholstered) and automatic lowering suspension at speed to 2" ground clearance.

Piece by piece, using this gem of an idea we could in theory construct a transformer.

We have the technology.

I could see using this in a parking lot would make many people pee themselves, especially after the Transformers movie's success. I dig it!

My parents also drive a cream-puff black '93 Mark VIII. Perhaps I can convince them to do something along these lines.

And although I loathe the Mark VIII for its interior that loves to fall apart, it has an air suspension that lowers are freeway speeds, the engine is great, it has no speed governor, and it still pulls at over 140MPH.

You know what? that kinda rocks

I had a 94 Cougar, which was (mostly) the same, and a bigger problem than opening the doors in a tight spot was parking on the side of a hill and opening the door uphill...those buggers were heavy.

Nice car though, and I'm sure the MkVIII was even nicer.

I thought the Mark VIII's were sweet back in the day, and I am anything but a FoMoCo fan. These doors are sweet too, in an impractical and potentially nightmare-of-a-headache sort of way.

autobots, transform!

wouldn't it be more plausible to have a slightly wider frame and have it slide toward the rear of the car? It looks and sounds like it could break at any moment.

Side impact crash test ratings would probably be horrendous though...

I don't remember hearing or reading about this baby back in the day, there's no documentation to back up the story, and it apparently has a regular VIN number and is apparently street legal. Based on all that, I'm calling B.S.

However, that is quite possibly the raddest Lincoln I've seen in months (though that could be because I haven't seen any Mark VIIIs in ages).

Those doors are really cool, but you'd be screwed if the battery died. Those doors better have their own battery-backups in the door themselves in case of emergency.

As for the 140mph claims: all crown vics, even police cruisers, were limited to ~120mph up until recently (or maybe they still are?) because the crappy drive shafts would vibrate violently and snap. There was even a story about it on jalopnik last year. Not sure if this applied to the Mark VIII but considering they're very similar (heavy V8 sedan) I'm sure they used the same drive shaft.

If you buy a aftermarket shaft the Mark VIII would probably do 140 but not stock.

oh here's one story from jalopnik:
[jalopnik.com]

about a aftermarket driveshaft for Mustangs. Ford's still using a two-piece driveshaft that's prone to vibration and breaking.

Sweet baby cantaloupes that's awesome to watch!

YOu got to love this:

"At the moment, the drivers door is not operational. A skilled mechanic was able to get the passenger door functioning perfectly. The drivers door will require some tinkering as well as knowledge of electronics and possibly hydraulics to get it to function. It is being sold "as is.""

Wonderful!! Find a mechanic to fix the concept vehicle with parts THAT DON'T EXIST anywhere!

Dammit and I thought this car was so cool until I read that and remembered "Oh ****, if ANYTHING broke on those doors it'd be impossible to get parts for it."

Maybe the most shocking part: it's at 15k and reserve not met. With a door that might or might not be fixable.

yes I would "donk" that... then laugh at the guy in his SUV with his doors over his head...

also the thought comes to mind of an ejector seat...

@goatrope: On my dad's 1973 Custon Cruiser, the clamshell gate never failed in 4+ years of driving. Even after I backed into a concrete lightpole base at signifcant speed. Dad was lucky, I guess.

Failure to recognize the Mark Viii as the most superbly awesome vehicle ever shoud result in instant poster execution. This just makes the car that much more cool.

I may be a hardcore Volvo fanboy, but there's something about the Mark Viii that just radiates perfection. It's too bad they're worthless and are becoming exceptionally difficult to source parts for. Still doesn't make me any less fond of their elegance. Give me a '96 LSC in either Black or Blue and I'll be happy.

@danio3834: Mark VIII's are sweet. My folks' neighbor had a black one for years. Not my taste, auto only, but still one hell of a fast exec car, despite being a Ford ;)

@Turboner: They have serious potential as well. In past years at the annual Southern Heavy Shootout, there were several 11sec 1/4 mile street driven Mark VIIIs.

The LT1 cars were still faster, but the Marks were still bad azz

Do you have Peugot 1007 in Northern America?

Supermini with sliding electric door. Poor sales, due to:

1. Fear of being trapped when the froggy electrics break.

2. All the bits making it 20% dearer than its rivals.

3. All the bits making it slower, thirstier and worse handling than its rivals.

All I'm saying is, the same thinkings probably explain why there's only one of those Lincolns out there.

[www.transmit.net]

BMW tried this with their Z1 back in the day.

[en.wikipedia.org]
(the picture above is of the Z1 from Boulder, Colorado listed in the wikipedia article.

I have a 95 Lincoln Mark VIII I bought in Dec. 2006. This is one of the most beautifully designed automobiles inside and I out I have ever seen much less owned. What hasn't been mentioned is that the 4.6 ltr. 32 valve, 4 cam, port fuel injection, V8 is stock. I can drive 70 mph and get 34 mpg in mine with 150,000+ miles on it. The auto lowering of the suspension by 2" at 60 mph is the height of cool. I confirm at 140 mph she is still pulling strong and stable. Hot Rod Lincoln...........you bet!

reserve not met at 25k! What'd this guy think it was worth with a broken driver's door?

Apparently he thinks it's worth 500k:
"In addition, I have recently been contacted by an engineer who worked on this car. He noted that this car had at least $250,000 spent (in 1995) on the development of the drop door mechanism. In today's dollars, that is approx. $500,000. This is truly an engineering marvel."

Hey!

I also think the concept is quite cool, but to be honest I don't know why everyone is making such a big fuzz about this car... I saw it on a different web page just a couple days back. But there is actually a production car that offers the same feature. It's the BMW Z1 (as already mentioned)
which was presented at the IAA in Frankfurt in 1987. There was a limited number of 8000 cars built, but still it was a production car.

I Live in Germany and you can still see some driving around, even though it's quite rare and they are very expensive.

[www.bmw-z1.com]

this is a video of a Alpina RLE (a tuned up version of the Z1)

[youtube.com]

The interior door panel is about to wrinkle and tear after about three more demonstrations. It doesn't to slick to me. On the outside, that rocker panel closes with about the same efficiency as an old garage door opener. A dumb idea executed without any regard to aesthetics. Go Lincoln.

holy shit... who need lamborghini doors or suicide doors if you got THIS... OMG im dazed right now. Im gettin this on my honda civic !

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@Sanfam:

why not a 1998?