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Rear-engine design
 
 
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In automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the engine
Engine

An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input.An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel is called a Wiktionary:prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" ....
 at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine
Engine

An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input.An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel is called a Wiktionary:prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" ....
 itself is past the rear axle. This is not to be confused with the center of gravity of the whole vehicle, as an imbalance of such proportions would make it impossible to keep the front wheels on the ground.

Rear engined cars are almost always rear wheel drive, a layout known as RR
RR layout

In automotive design, a RR, or Rear-engine design, Rear-wheel drive layout is one which places both the Internal combustion engine and drive wheels at the rear of the vehicle....
.






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In automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the engine
Engine

An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input.An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel is called a Wiktionary:prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" ....
 at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine
Engine

An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input.An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel is called a Wiktionary:prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" ....
 itself is past the rear axle. This is not to be confused with the center of gravity of the whole vehicle, as an imbalance of such proportions would make it impossible to keep the front wheels on the ground.

Rear engined cars are almost always rear wheel drive, a layout known as RR
RR layout

In automotive design, a RR, or Rear-engine design, Rear-wheel drive layout is one which places both the Internal combustion engine and drive wheels at the rear of the vehicle....
. The exception is certain high performance four wheel drive
Four Wheel Drive

The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich....
 models from some European automakers. This layout is chosen for three reasons, packaging, traction, and ease of manufacture:
  • Since the engine is located at an extremity, the rest of the vehicle can be used for passengers and luggage.
  • Having the engine located over the driven wheels increase downward pressure which is helpful for grip on loose surfaces.
  • The drivetrain can be assembled as a unit and installed easily at the factory - easier than a front wheel drive layout where the driven wheels also steer the car.


The disadvantage of the rear engine configuration is that placing the engine outside the wheelbase
Wheelbase

In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels....
 can create problems for car handling
Car handling

Car handling and vehicle handling is a description of the way wheeled vehicles perform transverse to their direction of motion, particularly during cornering and swerving....
as, when the car begins to slide on a corner, the end of the car will tend to want to swing wide and overtake the front — especially under braking. This tendency is referred to as oversteer
Oversteer

Oversteer is a phenomenon that can occur in an automobile while attempting to corner or while already cornering. The car is said to oversteer when the rear wheels do not track behind the front wheels but instead slide out toward the outside of the turn....
 and creates potential safety issues both for ordinary drivers, and even in racing applications. There are also occasions where expert drivers find such behavior desirable in drifting
Drifting (motorsport)

refers to a driving technique and to a motor sport where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while preserving vehicle control and a high exit speed....
, a motorsport based on intentional oversteer. Details on the handling characteristics of rear engined cars were prominently featured in the 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed
Unsafe at Any Speed

Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile by Ralph Nader, published in 1965, is a book detailing resistance by car manufacturers to the introduction of safety features, like seat belts, and their general reluctance to spend money on improving safety....
.

In addition, even though the rear wheels benefit from the additional traction the added weight of the engine gives, the front wheels still need traction in order to steer the car effectively. For this reason, a rear engined car can also be prone to understeer
Understeer

Understeer is a term for a car handling condition in which during cornering the circular path of the vehicle's motion is of a greater radius than the circle indicated by the direction its wheels are pointed....
.

Most manufacturers have abandoned the rear engined layout apart from Porsche
Porsche

Porsche SE or Porsche is a Germany automotive industry of luxury vehicle automobiles, which is majority-owned by the Porsche family and Pi?ch families....
 who has gradually developed their design with improvements to the suspension as well as electronic aids to reduce the shortcomings of the layout to acceptable levels.

On the De Lorean
De Lorean Motor Company

The DeLorean Motor Company was a short-lived automobile manufacturer formed by automobile industry executive John DeLorean in 1975. It is remembered for the one model it produced ? the distinctive stainless steel DeLorean DMC-12 sports car featuring gull-wing doors ? and for its brief and turbulent history, ending in receivership and bankrup...
, to compensate for the uneven (35/65) weight distribution caused by the rear-mounted engine, the car had rear wheels with a diameter slightly greater than the front wheels.

Some rear-engined cars

  • BMW
    BMW

    , is an independent German automotive industry founded in 1916. It also produces BMW Motorrad, is the owner of the MINI brand and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars....
     600
    BMW 600

    The BMW 600 was a small car produced by BMW from the summer of 1957 until November 1959. It was a four-seat car partially based on the BMW Isetta two-seater, with more power, a longer wheelbase, a back door, and a more conventional four-wheel configuration....
     and 700
    BMW 700

    The BMW 700 is a small rear-engined car produced by BMW from August 1959 to September 1965, based on the BMW 600 . Unlike the 600, however, the 700 was an all steel monocoque structure....
  • Chevrolet
    Chevrolet

    Chevrolet is a brand of automobile, produced by General Motors . It is the top selling GM marque, with "Chevrolet" or "Chevy" being at times synonymous with GM....
     Corvair
    Chevrolet Corvair

    The Chevrolet Corvair is a automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors from 1959 to 1969, for the 1960–1969 model years....
  • De Lorean DMC-12
    De Lorean DMC-12

    The DeLorean DMC-12 is a sports car that was manufactured by the DeLorean Motor Company for the American market in 1981 and 1982 in Northern Ireland....
  • Dune buggies like for instance the Meyers Manx
    Meyers Manx

    The Meyers Manx dune buggy was designed by Californian engineer, artist, and surfer Bruce Meyers. It was built by his company between 1964 and 1971....
  • FIAT
    Fiat

    Fiat S.p.A. Fiat based cars are constructed all around the world?the largest concern outside Italy is in Brazil . It also has factories in Argentina and Poland....
     500
    Fiat 500

    The Fiat 500 is a automobile produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975 . It was designed by Dante Giacosa.Launched as the Nuova 500, it was marketed as a cheap and practical town car....
    , 600
    Fiat 600

    The Fiat 600 [say-chento] is a city car produced by the Italy automaker Fiat from 1955 to 1969. Measuring only 3.22 m long, it was the first rear engine Fiat and cost the equivalent of about ? 6,700 or US$ 7300 ....
    , 850
    Fiat 850

    The Fiat 850 is a small rear engine rear wheel drive car in the tradition of the Renault Dauphine. It was produced between 1964 and 1973....
    , 126
    Fiat 126

    The Fiat 126 was a city car introduced in 1972 as a replacement for the Fiat 500. Most were produced in Poland as the Polski Fiat 126p until 2000....
     and 133
    Fiat 133

    The Fiat 133 was a model of car developed in Spain by SEAT, with which Italy company Fiat had signed an agreement of collaboration in the 1960s....
  • Hillman Imp
    Hillman Imp

    The Hillman Imp is a compact, rear-engined sedan that was manufactured under the Hillman marque by the Rootes from 1963 to 1976. An estate version known as the Hillman Husky was produced from 1967....
  • NSU
    NSU Motorenwerke AG

    NSU Motorenwerke Aktiengesellschaft, , was a Germany manufacturer of automobile and motorcycles, which was founded in 1873. It was acquired by Volkswagen Group in 1969....
     Prinz
    NSU Prinz

    The NSU Prinz was an automobile produced in West Germany by the NSU Motorenwerke AG. The car was built from 1957 to 1973, and received a model change in 1961 ....
  • Porsche 356
    Porsche 356

    The Porsche 356 was the company's first production automobile. It was a lightweight and nimble handling rear-engine rear-wheel-drive 2 door sports car available in hardtop and convertible configurations....
    , 911
    Porsche 911

    The Porsche 911 is a sports car made by Porsche Aktiengesellschaft of Stuttgart, Germany. The famous, distinctive, and durable design is notable for being rear engined like the Porsche-designed Volkswagen Beetle it had been based on....
     and 959
    Porsche 959

    The Porsche 959 is a sports car manufactured by Porsche from 1986 to 1989, first as a Group B rally car and later as a legal production car designed to satisfy F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile homologation regulations requiring that a minimum number of 200 street legal units be built....
  • Mercedes-Benz 130/150/170H
    Rear-Engine Mercedes-Benz

    From 1931 to 1939, Daimler-Benz AG produced three cars with Rear-engine design as well as a few prototypes. The production numbers remained quite low for each of these models, especially compared to the production of classical front-engine Mercedes cars....
  • Renault 4CV
    Renault 4CV

    The Renault 4CV is an automobile produced by the France manufacturer Renault from 1946 to 1961. An economical "people's car" inspired by the Volkswagen Beetle, it was the first French car to sell over a million units....
    , Dauphine
    Renault Dauphine

    The Renault Dauphine is an automobile produced by France manufacturer Renault from 1956 to 1967. A luxury version, badged as the Renault Ondine was sold from 1960 to 1962....
    , Caravelle
    Renault Caravelle

    The Renault Caravelle is a roadster automobile produced by the France manufacturer Renault between 1958 and 1968. Outside of North America for its first four years of production it was known as the Renault Floride....
    , R8
    Renault 8

    The Renault 8 and Renault 10 are two small family cars produced by the France vehicle manufactuer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s. The 8 was launched in 1962, and the 10, a more upmarket version of the 8, was launched in 1965....
    , R10
    Renault 8

    The Renault 8 and Renault 10 are two small family cars produced by the France vehicle manufactuer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s. The 8 was launched in 1962, and the 10, a more upmarket version of the 8, was launched in 1965....
  • Renault Alpine
    Alpine (car)

    Alpine was a France manufacturer of racing car and sports cars that used rear engine Renault engines. The French language marque name pronunciation is broadly similar to how "ahl-peen" would be said in English Language....
  • Simca 1000
    Simca 1000

    The Simca 1000 was a small, rear-engined, four-door saloon car manufactured by the France automaker Simca from 1961 to 1978. The car was inexpensive, and at the time of launch, quite modern, with a brand-new inline-4 engine....
  • Škoda
    Škoda Auto

    ?koda Auto is an automotive industry in the Czech Republic. In 1991, it became a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group....
     130/135/136
  • Smart Roadster
    Smart Roadster

    File:Smart.roadster.arp.750pix.jpgThe Smart Roadster is a two-door microcar first introduced in 2003 by Smart . Sales of the Roadster and Roadster Coup? met expectations, however warranty claims resulted in a halt of production of both models in November 2005 after 43,091 Roadsters were made....
  • Tatra T603
    Tatra (car)

    Tatra is a vehicle manufacturer in Koprivnice, Czech Republic. The company was founded in 1850 as Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft, a wagon and carriage manufacturer, and in 1897 produced the first motor car in central Europe, the Pr?sident....
  • Tucker Torpedo
  • Volkswagen Beetle
    Volkswagen Beetle

    The Volkswagen Type 1 is an economy car produced by the Germany auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003. The car was originally known as K?fer, the German language word for "beetle," from which the popular English nickname originates....
    , type 3 'pontoon', Karmann Ghia and type 4 (411/412), as well as the VW Bus
    Volkswagen Type 2

    The Volkswagen Type 2 was the second automotive line introduced by Germany automaker Volkswagen. It was a van introduced in 1950, initially based on Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1, also known as the "Volkswagen Beetle"....
     and type 181 'Thing'
    Volkswagen 181

    The Volkswagen Type 181 "Kurierwagen", popularly known in the United Kingdom as the Trekker, in the United States as the Thing, and in Mexico as the Safari, was a small military vehicle produced by Volkswagen from 1969 to 1983, although civilian sales stopped in 1980....
  • Tata Nano
    Tata Nano

    The Tata Nano is a city car — rear-engined, four-passenger car aimed primarily at the Indian market — first presented by India's Tata Motors at the 9th annual Auto Expo on January 10, 2008, at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, India....
  • Benz Patent motorwagen