Other front Sliding Door cars
I haven't included commercial vans because that would have brought in the Transit; J2; Sherpa; Bedford CF; Commer etc which used to have sliding front doors. However there is an interesting nostalgic thread here
Marinus has come up with some more cars with front sliding doors. Some concepts even from last century, some real cars. Put the name in Google Pictures and see what people have invented: (I haven't checked all these!)
Opel Trixx / Renault Ludo / Bertone Genesis / BMW SX concept / Chrysler 70X / Honda WOW / Kaiser Darrin / 1988 Renault Megane Concept / 1991 Renault Scenic Concept / Tata Megapixel Concept / 1991 Dodge Neon Concept / Honda Vision XS-1 / Mazda Senku / Mercury Antser / Nissan Pivo 3/ Opel GT2 concept 1975 / 1963 Pininfarina PF Sigma / Tesla model C concept / Toyota Porte / Toyota F110 (one side) / Toyota FT-EVII
Peugeot 1007 (120,000 produced 2005-2009 just 7,200 in UK)
The 1007 is very unusual. It was the first car to come with two electric front sliding doors, in the place of conventional opening doors. This means getting in and out when parked in even the narrowest of spaces, is much easier.
It also has a stylish interior with interchangeable trim panels. Despite the small dimensions it has four seats and plenty of headroom.
It is certainly different and although expensive as a new buy, the 1007 is proving to be much better value on the used market, with temptingly low prices.
Toyota Porte (also called a Toyota Spade) (One sliding door) (1974-Dec 2020)
The Toyota Porte is a compact car produced by Toyota that features an electric-powered sliding door on the passenger side. The driver's front and rear door are of the conventional flappy type.
The Porte was introduced in July 2004, but was only available in Japan, and is only produced with right hand drive.
It comes with either a 1.3 litre or 1.5 litre petrol engine, with automatic transmission only. It is similar in concept to the slightly smaller Peugeot 1007 which has electric-powered sliding doors on both sides.
see also the Toyota Spade , as shown in the picture
Enfield Electric Car (1973- ?)
The Enfield 8000 is a two-seater battery-electric city car, introduced in 1973 and developed in the United Kingdom by Enfield Automotive, owned by Greek millionaire Giannis Goulandris. The car was designed by a group of Greek and British engineers and production, immediately after its introduction, was moved to the Greek island of Syros.
120 cars were built in total, of which 65 were used by the Electricity Council and electricity boards in the south of England.
Powered by an 8 bhp (6 kW) electric motor and 4 lead-acid batteries, the car has a top speed of around 48 mph (77 km/h) and a range of around 40 miles (64 km).
Both doors slide to open. see road test here
BMW Z-1 (1989-91)
The BMW Z1 was a small sports car with electrically operated vertically sliding front doors.
The driver and passenger need some contortion to get into it as the sill is so high.
VW Fridolin van (6,139 produced 1964-74)
The Volkswagen Type 147 (informally Fridolin) was a commercial vehicle produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen (VW) from 1964 until 1974.
The panel van was mainly built for the purposes of the state-owned Deutsche Bundespost and used a Mk1 1192cc Beetle engine
Its official name was Volkswagen Type 147 Kleinlieferwagen (small van) but due to its funny and badly proportioned shape it was affectionately called Fridolin.
SAAB Postal Van (1974)
This is an electric prototype used for a brief period in the city of Linköping before ending up in the museum.
Officially called the Saab Elbil and also known as the 95 TJ Electric Postal Van, Saab's prototype from 1974 used an 84 Volt system with an electric motor made by TJ Electric. Despite weighing 4,497 pounds, it could reach a top speed of 43 mph
Suzuki Alto Slide Slim 1988-94 (2 sliding doors)
Another curiosity of this third generation Alto was the availability of a version with sliding doors, the "Slide Slim", intended to simplify entering and exiting in tight spaces. It also made egress easier for the old and the infirm.
Suzuki Alto Slide Slim 1988-94 (1 sliding door)
Not many people would know about this particular version - the Alto Slide Slim. Designed for disabled people, the 3-cylinder Slide Slim features slide-back driver's door for easy access and a clever driver's seat mechanism that allows the seat to be swung to the edge of the vehicle.
The Alto Slide Slim is just one of the specialised vehicles for the disabled in Japan - even the luxurious Toyota Celsior was available with a similar arrangement (excluding the sliding door, of course!)
Bedford CA Van - Dormobile (1952-69)
The Bedford CA was a distinctive pug-nosed light commercial vehicle produced between 1952 and 1969 by Bedford in Luton.
Generally it was supplied as a light delivery van with sliding doors however the Bedford Dormobile was a Campervan conversion based on the van.
In its day, the vehicle was ubiquitous; the Ford Transit of its time. These vehicles are now rare due to rust disease.
Kaiser Darrin (1954)
The Kaiser Darrin was an unsuccessful attempt to provide sliding front doors in a Sports Car.
Uniquely, the doors (no windows) slid forward into the front wings.
See article in Wiki which includes the words
"Problems with the design also became apparent as the Darrin entered the market, especially regarding its sliding doors. . . . entering or exiting through the narrow door openings could prove awkward and doors on early production vehicles tended to jam."