glatt - now I feel stupid for not trying that when I had the chance. I was standing right there and could have been in and out before the guards could do anything.
The doors seem like they'd be good for tight parking spaces. I don't think they'd need as much side clearance as regular doors.
Edit: This is from
Wikipedia:
The 300SL was best known for both its distinctive
gullwing or
butterfly wing doors and for being the first-ever
gasoline-powered car equipped with
fuel injection directly into the combustion chamber. The gullwing version was available from March 1955 to 1957. In Mercedes-Benz fashion, the "300" referred to the engine's cylinder displacement, in this case, three liters. The "SL", as applied to a roadster, stood for
"Sport Leicht" or "Sport Light."
...
The gullwing doors, hinged at the roof and so named because the open doors resembled a bird's outstretched wings, were implemented as such to accommodate for the car's tubular chassis, designed by DBAG's chief developing engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut. Part of the chassis passed through what would be the lower half of a standard door.
This tubular chassis was a necessity, as the original car was designed solely for racing and needed to be as light as possible due to the rather underpowered original, carbureted, engine, while still providing a high level of strength. This required the driver and any passengers to do some gymnastics to get in or out of the car, usually by sitting on and sliding across the wide door sill. A steering wheel with a tilt-away column made the process considerably easier.