Talk:Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout

Safety Issue?

 * This tendency is referred to as oversteer and creates potential safety issues in racing applications as well as for ordinary drivers on wet or icy roads, although such behavior is desirable in drifting, a motorsport based on intentional oversteer.

It's hard to agree with this. Most street drivers can't handle oversteer, which is why most cars sold are designed (and adjusted) to push. Even out side of drifting, motorsports has favored the rear-engine setup. -- Mikeblas 13:20, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

I have read at many places that rear and mid engined cars are hard to drift. I can also say from first hand racing experience that when the back end of a mid engined car comes out, it really wants to spin all the way around. -- —Preceding unsigned comment added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)


 * Looks to be fixed. Telecine Guy (talk) 23:55, 7 November 2018 (UTC)

What about the 911 (modern and past)?
Most would content the Porsche 911 (including, but not limited to, the current 997 iteration) is an RR layout, refuting the statement by the article authors that the Skoda 130/135/136 was the last European RR car in production.

If indeed the 911 is to be considered an RMR layout, a citation is necessary, and it should be included the list of RMR cars in the linked RMR article.


 * Looks to be fixed. Telecine Guy (talk) 23:54, 7 November 2018 (UTC)

There is something wrong with this
"Further, problems with engine cooling are commonplace. Since the radiator is not at the front of the automobile, it does not benefit from the airflow a front-engine car would readily avail of. Special ducting must be built into the body of the car to facilitate airflow to the radiator, therefore." The above statement seems downright wrong. Some rear and mid engend cars have radiators in the front, such as my MR2 spyder and the Lotus Elise. -- —Preceding unsigned comment added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)


 * Looks to be fixed. The wording was wrong, as some have no radiator, some radiator in rear and a few radiator in front. Telecine Guy (talk) 23:58, 7 November 2018 (UTC)

And This!
"For optimum traction, the engine should be nearest to the driven wheels since the engine is typically the densest/heaviest component of the car."

While the above statement is true is should also be stressed that having the main weight near the front wheels improves steering - especially in snow. It's probably better for the back end to swing out rather than not making the curve at all! 85.22.26.213 00:19, 8 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I beleive you're confusing traction, which refers exclusively to contact between the driving member and surface, with grip, which refers to the overall frictional hold -- Oni Ookami Alfador Talk 14:27, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

How about a bug?
The old air-cooled bug is an example of this design also isn't it? If so I would mention it as an example since they are familiar to so many people (at least those of us over 30). Kevink707 (talk) 18:15, 16 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes, was Fixed. Telecine Guy (talk)

"History" could include "History of handling solutions"
The wayward handling of rear-engine, rear-wheel drive cars has been documented at least since Wehrmacht officers in occupied Czechoslovakia were ordered not to use Tatras as staff cars. Probably the most notorious car with this layout, the Chevrolet Corvair publicized by Ralph Nader's book Unsafe At Any Speed, initially recommended unconventional tyre pressures to minimize the handling problem. The problem with the Corvair was largely corrected in the second generation by an improved rear suspension design and the inclusion of an anti-roll bar.

BMW first used its semi-trailing arm rear suspension in its rear-engined BMW 600, and continued with it in the similarly configured BMW 700. One wonders to what extent the effects of the layout led them to choose that type of suspension, and what advantage it would have over other possible types at the time.

If anyone has any reliable sources that give some of the history of taming this characteristic, could he or she please include the information and cite the source?

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, SamBlob (talk) 17:10, 3 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Nader was notoriously dishonest in UAAS. There was no handling problem with the Corvair so long as the tires were inflated to the correct pressures, with the front tires having lower pressures than the rear tires.  The VW Type 1 and other RR VWs all used lighter pressures in the front tires and experienced no handling problems.  Also, IIRC, none of Renault's RR cars (e.g. Dauphine, 8 and 10) had handling problems.


 * 71.173.7.100 (talk) 02:21, 10 May 2013 (UTC)

Smart ForTwo
Is the Smart ForTwo RR or MR layout? My not qualified opinion is that it is RR in which case I think it should be included as a current example on this page. Kevink707 (talk) 00:28, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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Merger proposal
I propose to merge Rear-engine design into this article. All rear-engine design vehicles are also rear wheel drive. All of the content in Rear-engine design is duplicated here. Cornellier (talk) 14:42, 16 March 2019 (UTC)