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Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
RMR layout; the engine is located in front of the rear axle.
RMR layout; the engine is located in front of the rear axle.
Rear Mid-engine transversely-mounted / Rear-wheel drive
Rear Mid-engine transversely-mounted / Rear-wheel drive

In automotive design, an RMR, or rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed with its center of gravity in front of the rear axle, and thus right behind the passenger compartment. Nowadays more frequently called 'RMR', to acknowledge that certain sporty or performance focused front-engined cars are also "mid-engined", by having the main engine mass behind the front axle, RMR layout cars were previously (until ca. the 1990) just called MR, or mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout), because the nuance between distinctly front-engined vs. front mid-engined cars often remained undiscussed.

In contrast to the fully rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, the center of mass of the engine is in front of the rear axle. This layout is typically chosen for its favorable weight distribution. Placing the car's heaviest component within the wheelbase minimizes its rotational inertia around the vertical axis, facilitating turn-in or yaw angle. Also, a near 50/50% weight distribution, with a slight rear weight bias, gives a very favorable balance, with plenty of weight on the driven rear axle under acceleration, while distributing the weight fairly evenly under braking, thereby making optimal use of all four wheels to decelerate the car rapidly as well.

The RMR layout generally has a lower tendency to understeer. However, since there is less weight over the front wheels, under acceleration the front of the car can be prone to lift and still have understeer. Most rear-engine layouts have historically been used in smaller vehicles, because the weight of the engine at the rear has an adverse effect on a larger car's handling, making it 'tail-heavy', although this effect is more pronounced with engines mounted behind the rear axle.[1] It is felt that the low polar inertia is crucial in selection of this layout. The mid-engined layout also uses up central space, making it generally only practical for single seating-row sports-cars, with exception to a handful of 2+2 designs. Additionally, some microtrucks use this layout, with a small, low engine beneath a flat load floor above the rear wheel-wells. This makes it possible to move the cab right to the front of the vehicle, thus increasing the loading area at the expense of slightly reduced load depth.

In modern racing cars, RMR is the usual configuration and is usually synonymous with "mid-engine". Due to its weight distribution and resulting in favorable vehicle dynamics, this layout is heavily employed in open-wheel Formula racing cars (such as Formula One and IndyCar) as well as purpose-built sports racing cars. This configuration was also common in very small engined 1950s microcars, in which the engines did not take up much space. Because of successes in racing, the RMR platform has been popular for road-going sports cars despite the inherent challenges of design, maintenance and lack of cargo space. The similar mid-engine, four-wheel-drive layout gives many of the same advantages and is used when extra traction is desired, such as in some supercars and in the Group B rally cars.

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Automotive design

Automotive design

Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance of motor vehicles - including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans.

Mid-engine design

Mid-engine design

In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle.

Center of mass

Center of mass

In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space is the unique point at any given time where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may be applied to cause a linear acceleration without an angular acceleration. Calculations in mechanics are often simplified when formulated with respect to the center of mass. It is a hypothetical point where the entire mass of an object may be assumed to be concentrated to visualise its motion. In other words, the center of mass is the particle equivalent of a given object for application of Newton's laws of motion.

Mass

Mass

Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementary particles, theoretically with the same amount of matter, have nonetheless different masses. Mass in modern physics has multiple definitions which are conceptually distinct, but physically equivalent. Mass can be experimentally defined as a measure of the body's inertia, meaning the resistance to acceleration when a net force is applied. The object's mass also determines the strength of its gravitational attraction to other bodies.

Engine

Engine

An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.

2+2 (car body style)

2+2 (car body style)

A 2+2 is a version of the coupé car-body style that has a seat each for the driver and front passenger, and two rear seats. The latter may be individual "bucket" seats, fold-downs, or a full-width "bucketed" bench seat, but always with less leg room than either the front or a standard 2-door car. The style is different from 4 or 5 seat versions that have normal size rear seats. Some manufacturers which sell coupés without rear seats often market the car as "2+2"

Formula racing

Formula racing

Formula racing is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single-seater regulations, or formulae. The best known of these formulae are Formula One, Formula E, Formula Two, Formula Three, regional Formula Three and Formula Four. Common usage of "formula racing" encompasses other single-seater series, including the GP2 Series, which replaced Formula 3000.

Formula One

Formula One

Formula One is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the premier forms of racing around the world since its inaugural season in 1950. The word formula in the name refers to the set of rules to which all participants' cars must conform. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix. Grands Prix take place in multiple countries and continents around the world on either purpose-built circuits or closed public roads.

IndyCar

IndyCar

INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis 500, developmental series Indy Lights, the Indy Pro 2000 Championship and the U.S. F2000 National Championship, which are all a part of the Road to Indy and the Global Mazda MX-5 Cup. IndyCar is recognized as a member organization of the FIA through ACCUS.

Microcar

Microcar

Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than 700 cc (43 cu in). Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are often covered by separate regulations to normal cars, having relaxed requirements for registration and licensing.

Mid-engine, four-wheel-drive layout

Mid-engine, four-wheel-drive layout

In automotive design, an M4, or Mid-engine, Four-wheel-drive layout places the internal combustion engine in the middle of the vehicle, between both axles and drives all four road wheels.

Group B

Group B

Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar Championship alongside the more popular racing prototypes of Group C, Group B are commonly associated with the international rallying scene during 1982 to 1986 in popular culture, when they were the highest class used across rallying, including the World Rally Championship, regional and national championships.

History

The 1900 NW Rennzweier was one of the first race cars with mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. Other known historical examples include the 1923 Benz Tropfenwagen. It was based on an earlier design named the Rumpler Tropfenwagen in 1921 made by Edmund von Rumpler, an Austrian engineer working at Daimler. The Benz Tropfenwagen was designed by Ferdinand Porsche along with Willy Walb and Hans Nibel. It raced in 1923 and 1924 and was most successful in the Italian Grand Prix in Monza where it stood fourth. Later, Ferdinand Porsche used mid-engine design concept towards the Auto Union Grand Prix cars of the 1930s which became the first winning RMR racers. They were decades before their time, although MR Miller Specials raced a few times at Indianapolis between 1939 and 1947. In 1953 Porsche premiered the tiny and altogether new RMR 550 Spyder and in a year it was notoriously winning in the smaller sports and endurance race car classes against much larger cars – a sign of greater things to come. The 718 followed similarly in 1958. But it was not until the late 1950s that RMR reappeared in Grand Prix (today's "Formula One") races in the form of the Cooper-Climax (1957), soon followed by cars from BRM and Lotus. Ferrari and Porsche soon made Grand Prix RMR attempts with less initial success. The mid-engined layout was brought back to Indianapolis in 1961 by the Cooper Car Company with Jack Brabham running as high as third and finishing ninth. Cooper did not return, but from 1963 on British built mid-engined cars from constructors like Brabham, Lotus and Lola competed regularly and in 1965 Lotus won Indy with their Type 38.

Rear mid-engines were widely used in microcars like the Isetta or the Zündapp Janus.

The first rear mid-engined road car after WW II was the 1962 (Rene) Bonnet / Matra Djet, which used the 1108cc Renault Sierra engine, mated to the transaxle from the FWD Renault Estafette van. Nearly 1700 were built until 1967. This was followed by the first De Tomaso, the Vallelunga, which mated a tuned Ford Cortina 1500 Kent engine to a VW transaxle with Hewland gearsets. Introduced at Turin in 1963, 58 were built 1964–68. A similar car was the Renault-engined Lotus Europa, built from 1966 to 1975.

Finally, in 1966, the Lamborghini Miura was the first high performance mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive road car. The concept behind the Miura was that of putting on the road a grand tourer featuring state-of-the-art racing-car technology of the time; hence the Miura was powered by a V12 transversely mounted between the rear wheels, solidal to the gearbox and differential.[2] This represented an extremely innovative sportscar at a time when all of its competitors (aside from the rear-engined Porsches), from Ferraris to Aston Martins, were traditional front-engined, rear-wheel-drive grand tourers.

The Pontiac Fiero was a mid-engined sports car that was built by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1984 to 1988. The Fiero was the first two-seater Pontiac since the 1926 to 1938 coupes, and also the first mass-produced mid-engine sports car by a U.S. manufacturer.

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NW Rennzweier

NW Rennzweier

Rennzweier is a veteran automobile manufactured by Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft A.G. in 1900. It is sometimes also called First racing, 12 HP or Rennwagen. It was commissioned by baron Theodor von Liebig. Hans Ledwinka, the man behind the famous rear-engined Tatras, and at the time only 20 years old, took part in constructing the car. The car was manufactured on May 5, 1900, and the manufacturing process took only 5 weeks.

Ferdinand Porsche

Ferdinand Porsche

Ferdinand Porsche was an Austro-Bohemian automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volkswagen Beetle, the Auto Union racing car, the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, several other important developments and Porsche automobiles.

Johann "Hans" Nibel

Johann "Hans" Nibel

Hans Nibel was a German mechanical engineer.

Italian Grand Prix

Italian Grand Prix

The Italian Grand Prix is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix, having been held since 1921. In 2013 it became the most held Grand Prix. It is one of the two Grands Prix which has run as an event of the Formula One World Championship Grands Prix every season, continuously since the championship was introduced in 1950. Every Formula One Italian Grand Prix in the World Championship era has been held at Monza except in 1980, when it was held at Imola.

Grand Prix motor racing

Grand Prix motor racing

Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver. Innovation and the drive of competition soon saw speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), but because early races took place on open roads, accidents occurred frequently, resulting in deaths both of drivers and of spectators. A common abbreviation used for Grand Prix racing is "GP" or "GP racing".

Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis. The event is traditionally held over Memorial Day weekend, usually the last weekend of May. It is contested as part of the IndyCar Series, the top level of American open-wheel car racing, a formula colloquially known as "Indy car racing". The track itself is nicknamed the "Brickyard", as the racing surface was paved in brick in the fall of 1909. One yard of brick remains exposed at the start/finish line. The event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix, with which it typically shares a date.

Porsche

Porsche

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche, is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company is owned by Volkswagen AG, a controlling stake of which is owned by Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Porsche's current lineup includes the 718 Boxster/Cayman, 911 (992), Panamera, Macan, Cayenne and Taycan.

Formula One

Formula One

Formula One is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the premier forms of racing around the world since its inaugural season in 1950. The word formula in the name refers to the set of rules to which all participants' cars must conform. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix. Grands Prix take place in multiple countries and continents around the world on either purpose-built circuits or closed public roads.

Cooper Car Company

Cooper Car Company

The Cooper Car Company is a British car manufacturer founded in December 1947 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles's small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England, in 1946. Through the 1950s and early 1960s they reached motor racing's highest levels as their mid-engined, single-seat cars competed in both Formula One and the Indianapolis 500, and their Mini Cooper dominated rally racing. The Cooper name lives on in the Cooper versions of the Mini production cars that are built in England, but is now owned and marketed by BMW.

Coventry Climax

Coventry Climax

Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer.

Lotus Cars

Lotus Cars

Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics.

Ferrari

Ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as Auto Avio Costruzioni, the company built its first car in 1940, and produced its first Ferrari-badged car in 1947.

Gallery

Mid-engine transversely-mounted, rear-wheel-drive layout

  • NW Rennzweier, first of the long line of Tatra racing cars.

    NW Rennzweier, first of the long line of Tatra racing cars.

  • The Lamborghini Miura, incorrectly accounted as the first mid-engined roadcar.

    The Lamborghini Miura, incorrectly accounted as the first mid-engined roadcar.

  • The Lancia Stratos HF was powered by a mid-transverse mounted Dino Ferrari V6, and proved to be very successful as a rally car.

    The Lancia Stratos HF was powered by a mid-transverse mounted Dino Ferrari V6, and proved to be very successful as a rally car.

  • The Fiat X1/9 was designed around the all-new front-wheel drive Fiat 128, but used these parts in a radical way, moving the entire transverse drive train and suspension assembly from the front of the 128 to the rear of the passenger cabin.

    The Fiat X1/9 was designed around the all-new front-wheel drive Fiat 128, but used these parts in a radical way, moving the entire transverse drive train and suspension assembly from the front of the 128 to the rear of the passenger cabin.

  • As with many "rear mid-engine transversely-mounted / rear-wheel-drive layouts", the Matra-Simca Bagheera shared Simcas 1100 and 1307 front-wheel-drive mechanicals, but placed behind the passenger compartment.[3]

    As with many "rear mid-engine transversely-mounted / rear-wheel-drive layouts", the Matra-Simca Bagheera shared Simcas 1100 and 1307 front-wheel-drive mechanicals, but placed behind the passenger compartment.[3]

  • Toyota MR2, Japan's first rear mid-engined production sportscar, sold internationally over three generations (1984–2007).

    Toyota MR2, Japan's first rear mid-engined production sportscar, sold internationally over three generations (1984–2007).

  • In the Lotus Evora, platform and mechanicals are uniquely designed for the vehicle.

    In the Lotus Evora, platform and mechanicals are uniquely designed for the vehicle.

  • The Consulier GTP incorporated a mid-transverse mounted Chrysler 2.2 Turbo III engine; it was successful in IMSA competition until it was banned in 1991.

    The Consulier GTP incorporated a mid-transverse mounted Chrysler 2.2 Turbo III engine; it was successful in IMSA competition until it was banned in 1991.

  • The Lancia Montecarlo sports car was developed as part of the Beta range and it is named in honour of the Stratos winning the Rallye Monte-Carlo. They were marketed in the US as Lancia Scorpion. Lampredi designed twin-cam, 4 cylinder engine.

    The Lancia Montecarlo sports car was developed as part of the Beta range and it is named in honour of the Stratos winning the Rallye Monte-Carlo. They were marketed in the US as Lancia Scorpion. Lampredi designed twin-cam, 4 cylinder engine.

Mid-engine longitudinally-mounted, rear-wheel-drive layout

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Lamborghini Miura

Lamborghini Miura

The Lamborghini Miura is a sports car produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini between 1966 and 1973. The car was the first supercar with a rear mid-engined two-seat layout, although the concept was first seen in a production road car with René Bonnet's Matra Djet, introduced in 1964. This layout has since become the standard for high-performance sports and supercars. When released, it was the fastest production road car.

Ferrari Dino engine

Ferrari Dino engine

The Ferrari Dino engine is a line of mechanically similar V6 and V8 engines produced by Ferrari for about 40 years from the late 1950s into the early 2000s.

Fiat X1/9

Fiat X1/9

The Fiat X1/9 is a two-seater mid-engined sports car designed by Bertone and manufactured by Fiat from 1972–1982 and subsequently by Gruppo Bertone from 1982–1989.

Front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles.

Fiat 128

Fiat 128

The Fiat 128 is a transverse front-engine, front wheel drive small family car manufactured and marketed by Fiat from 1969 to 1985 as a two- or four-door sedan, three- or five-door station wagon as well as two- or three-door coupé. The 128 running gear and engine, reconfigured for a mid-engined layout, were used in the Fiat X1/9 sports car.

Lotus Evora

Lotus Evora

The Lotus Evora is a sports car produced by British car manufacturer Lotus. The car, which was developed under the project name Project Eagle, was launched on 22 July 2008 at the British International Motor Show. The Evora S was launched in 2010 with a supercharged 3.5-litre V6. A facelifted and more powerful Evora 400 model was unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, followed by another more powerful variant, the Evora GT430, which was unveiled in 2017.

Consulier GTP

Consulier GTP

The Consulier GTP is an American sports car that was produced by Consulier Industries between 1985 and 1993 and successfully used in professional racing. Consulier Industries spun off their automotive division into Mosler Automotive which then rebranded the car as the Mosler Intruder and Mosler Raptor before production ended in 2000. Mosler replaced the car with the Mosler MT900 in 2001.

Lancia Montecarlo

Lancia Montecarlo

The Lancia Montecarlo is a Pininfarina-designed mid-engined sports car produced by Lancia in Italy from 1975 to 1981.

Mitsubishi i

Mitsubishi i

The Mitsubishi i is a kei car from automaker Mitsubishi Motors, first released in January 2006, twenty eight months after its debut at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is the first four-door automobile since the 1960s to employ a "rear midship" setup with the engine behind the passengers, in an attempt to improve safety and interior space without enlarging the overall exterior.

Porsche 550

Porsche 550

The Porsche 550 is a racing sports car produced by Porsche from 1953 until 1956. In that time only 90 Porsche 550s were produced, and they quickly established dominance in the 1.1- and 1.5- liter classes. The Porsche 550 is a mid-engine car with an air-cooled four-cylinder engine, following the precedent of the 1948 Porsche 356/1 prototype designed by Ferry Porsche. The mid-engine racing design was further developed with Porsche's 718 model; its advantages led to it becoming the dominant design for top-level racing cars by the mid-1960s.

Matra Djet

Matra Djet

The Matra Djet is a French sports car that was originally designed and sold by René Bonnet. As the Bonnet Djet it was the world's first rear mid-engined production road car. Different versions of the car were produced from 1962 until 1967 and sold under a variety of names that included René Bonnet Djet, Matra-Bonnet Djet, Matra Sports Djet and finally, Matra Sports Jet.

ATS 2500 GT

ATS 2500 GT

The ATS 2500 GT is a sports car made by Italian company Automobili Turismo e Sport in Bologna. It was the first Italian and one of the first GT or sports car in the world to have a mid-engine layout. The group behind the ATS project consisted mainly of Ferrari defectors: family troubles had created an uncomfortable working atmosphere for the personnel. ATS, intent on beating Ferrari on all fronts, also produced a Formula One car for 1963, "a ghastly mess, one of the most inept racing cars ever, and its appalling performances did not help the road car." Even noted driver Phil Hill was unable to provide ATS with any results on track.

Source: "Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, December 11th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rear_mid-engine,_rear-wheel-drive_layout.

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Further Reading

Sports car

Steering

Lamborghini Countach

Lamborghini Miura

Front-wheel drive

Front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout

Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout

Transaxle

Transverse engine

Matra Murena

Front-mid-engine, front-wheel-drive layout

Matra Bagheera

Rear-engine design

Mid-engine, four-wheel-drive layout
References
  1. ^ Hillier, Victor; Coombes, Peter (2004). Fundamentals of motor vehicle technology. Nelson Thornes. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-7487-8082-2.
  2. ^ "History". Official Lamborghini website. Archived from the original on 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  3. ^ "Matra-Simca Bagheera". Simca Talbot Information Centre – Simca Club UK. Retrieved 2006-08-19.
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