Vehicle body construction

A vehicle body construction for a motor vehicle having a longitudinal direction, comprising:

• a body frame including a front pillar, a rear pillar, a center pillar disposed forwardly of said rear pillar and rearwardly of said front pillar with respect to the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle, said body frame also including a side sill between said front, center and rear pillars;
• a front door hingedly connected to said front pillar;
• a rear door hingedly connected to said center pillar;
• a first coupling member fixed to said front door at a portion which comes adjacent to said center pillar when said front door is closed;
• a second coupling member fixed to said front pillar;
• a third coupling member fixed to said rear pillar;
• said front door having a first member which has one end portion fixedly coupled with said first coupling member and an opposite end portion;
• said rear door having a second member which has one end portion mating with said third coupling member for coupling therewith during closing of said rear door with said front door closed, and an opposite end portion;
• means for supporting said first member on said front pillar for allowing limited movement of said first member in a direction toward said second coupling member and for movement with said front door such that the opposite end portion of said first member is coupled with said second coupling member during closing of said front door;
• means for supporting said second member on said center pillar for allowing limited movement of said second member in a direction toward said first coupling member and for movement with said rear door such that the opposite end portion of said second member is coupled with said first coupling member during closing of said rear door with said front door closed.