High-speed elevator

High-speed elevators are a frequent gimmick in Genesis-era Sonic games and usually appear in the final or penultimate zones. When Sonic steps inside, he goes into either his spin attack or horizontal spin animation before being rapidly teleported somewhere else. For the most part, Sonic cannot backtrack once he goes through a high-speed elevator.

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
These appear in Scrap Brain Zone (Act 2 only). Depending on how many rings you have, it either takes you up or down one floor or two.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
In Sonic 2, the elevators are found in Metropolis Zone and are almost exactly like the ones in Scrap Brain Zone, except they are gold in color and when you enter one, a light flashes on and off before Sonic is teleported.