if we look at high performance sports car,we can see most of their engines at rear portion but as usual cars we see engines at front portion…except from normal cars what kind of benefit do the rear engine cars give us???..like lamborghini,audi r8,posche 911,bugatti veyron

They are rear wheel drive with the weight of the motor over the drive wheels for traction, best of both worlds but a packaging nightmare.

It is all about weight distribution. Best handling is achieved with 50% of weight on front wheels and 50% on rear wheels. The engine is the heaviest item in the car, so where you place the motor has big impact on weight distribution. Many race cars and sports cars try to get the motor in the midd…

I agree with all of the above, but it is important to clarify exactly what is meant by “rear engine”. Nowadays, carmakers realize that putting an engine too far to the rear will result in extreme oversteer. For instance, the Auto Union race cars of the 1930s had HUGE engines placed behind the rear…

I agree with the Corvair statement completely. I owned one back in the mid-sixties and I can tell you that there was no advantage to having that engine in the rear. At slow speeds it was not too much of a problem but at higher speeds I had a tough time going around the slightest curves. Add a little…

Rod–The Corvair station wagon and the van version had an additional problem. Because the engine was–literally–inside the passenger cabin, and because the heater boxes tended to rot out after a few years, exhaust fumes would seep into the cabin, with sometimes disasterous results. I vividly recal…

My experience with the Corvair pickup was delivering groceries in a small town, VDCdriver. I doubt that I ever exceeded 45 mph but it seems like at the time it handled much easier than the GMC pickup that it was replacing. The worst complaint that I recall from owners was belt failures.

Rod–For local grocery deliveries, it was probably a good vehicle. Corvairs were known for very light steering, so it was probably a pleasure to pilot–as long as you kept your speed down. And, those drop-down ramps on the side were an excellent idea. Just be glad that your employer used the pickup…

Advantage, oversteer…disadvantage,oversteer.

What is the advantage of a rear engine car?

General Discussion

Rod-Knox January 22, 2012, 11:06pm 7

For some reason American drivers seem biased to understeer and the Corvair’s oversteer, in its original design, was a disaster when sold as a family sedan. And GM went so far as to build a Corvair wagon. The car was a lot of fun to drive in its day and the pickup version might have been a workable vehicle but the entire concept was trashed by “Unsafe at any Speed.”

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What is the advantage of a rear engine car?

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