- Are mullets coming back in style
or like have they actually ever gone out of style?
I don't really know,
but the whole business in the front party
in the back thing applies perfect description
of not only the type of hairstyle,
but actually quite a few things
throughout life and even cars.
And no, we're not talking
about third-gen Camaros, I'm sorry.
We're talking about the mullet
of car engine position slash orientation
slash mid-engine, rear-engine configuration of cars.
I'm Jarrod from Fitbit industries and welcome.
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We are gonna be talking about mid-engine, rear-engine
and maybe a little bit of front-engine cars
because they're just a little weird.
What is the point of one versus the other,
like should I go with a mid-engine?
Is it worth buying Amanda rear engine?
Are they affordable?
I thought they were really expensive.
Well that's what we're gonna talk about today.
So let's break it down
with a little backstory
on some of the first mid-engine
or rear-engine cars that there were.
The experimentation with engine placement in cars,
originates of course from the world of racing
just like a lot of other things
that we've come to love.
And dates all the way back into the early 1900s.
One of the first documented race cars
in fact the NW Renz wire,
was a cheque manufactured rear engine
racer built in May of the year 1900.
And even though it looks nothing like a race car
compared to modern standards, the car was considered
to sit pretty low, in other words no body panels
on the car everything was kind of exposed.
The two cylinder Benz built engine
produced a whopping 12 horsepower
and the engine sent transversely
or horizontally, over the rear axle
that it provided the power to.
And even though they probably weren't thinking
a whole hell of a lot, about the science,
about moving the engine behind the driver
and above the axle, the concept proved
to be extremely beneficial
throughout the next century,
racing and Motorsports exploded
across the world,
and many manufacturers (car engine roaring)
are just Porsche, Ferrari, Lotus really kept up
with the mid and rear-engine platform.
So with all that in mind, we've really come
to know high-end performance cars
and super cars with mid and rear-engine configurations.
So what is it about moving the engine around
that has captivated not only automotive manufacturers,
but the enthusiasm that drive them.
That's where the science and performance
of the vehicles truly speak for themselves.
If you look at a good 95% of the cars on the road today,
I would say, they're gonna be a transferase mounted
front-engined car, providing power
to either the front wheels
or they're all wheel drive.
This is due to cars being more focused
on economy and efficiency.
We talked about front wheel-drive cars,
being cheaper and easier to manufacture
in the previous video.
But when it comes to performance
in handling a front-engine car
might not be the best solution it turns out,
but with all the weight of the engine
and transmission sitting on the front axles,
and in front of the driver,
it tends to be the area where all the weight
of the vehicle is focused.
And bringing it down into simple physics terms,
the area with the most amount of mass
will have the highest amount of inertia.
And in cars having your highest area of inertia
towards the front of your vehicle,
will likely 'cause a little thing
that we call understeer,
which is not a good time.
Now obviously this can be prevented
and manufacturers have done a good job
preventing this by distributing the weight
throughout the rest of the vehicle,
and the higher performance cars with a front-engine,
they tend to do this pretty well
because they have to, they know that the drivers
are gonna be pushing these cars to the limits.
Flipping the engine on over to the other end of the car
we get what is referred to as a rear-engine car.
Now there usually is a lot of misunderstanding
when it comes to what the actual difference is
between a mid-engine car and a rear-engine car.
And a lot of times you just kind of get grouped
(faint blasting) into the same category.
Typically it's something like,
well engine is not in the front of the car
so it's gotta be a rear-engine car.
Basically what it is if you have a car
where the engine lands
between the front and the rear axles,
it is going to be considered a mid-engine vehicle.
However if you look at something like the Porsche 911,
the engine sits behind the rear axle
or on the rear axle,
which would be correctly labeled as a rear-engine car.
Now doing this provides a few things for a vehicle.
First off, having all the weight in the back of the car,
weighing down on the back of the wheels and everything
is going to provide more traction for the rear wheels,
providing a decent amount of acceleration and traction.
Typically acceleration is improved drastically
with a rear-engine car.
And it also has benefits
in breaking an overall handling of the vehicle as well.
Rear-engine cars tend to be more compact and smaller
than their front engine counterparts,
simply because you don't have a big engine in the front,
and the back of the car, it's usually a lot smaller.
And then they just kind of pack everything in there.
And this is a sports car after all
so it's not gonna be a huge.
Surprisingly enough mid-engine vehicles
are some of the least common out there.
However, a lot of their owners and drivers will tell you
that the mid-engine platform,
is by far the best out of all the options.
This is more likely due to the overall feel
and handling of the car.
By moving the engine closer to the center of the car,
you are pulling all that weight in a nurser,
more towards the center and giving yourself
a more mid center of gravity and a lower center of gravity.
It also makes it easier for engineers and designers
to balance the weight throughout the rest of the car
and almost get a perfectly balanced chassis.
This helps the car feel tighter and more nimble
and as well as providing an equal amount of traction
to both the front and the rear.
So if you wanted to do all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive,
you won't have to worry as much
about the acceleration issue.
So why so many different variations
of the same thing basically,
what would make someone want to go get
a mid-engine car over a rear-engine car,
a rear-engine car over like say a front-engine car.
Well the truth is they really all have their pros and cons
just like everything else.
Rear-engine vehicles, while they are good
at providing a good amount of grip to the rear
like we talked about, tend to be more prone
to oversteer instead of understeer,
since all the weight is now in the back
instead of the front.
However by moving the engine further back,
it does give the cabin some extra room compared
to that of let's say like a mid-engine vehicle,
where the engine is usually placed
like right behind the driver's seat,
you don't get a lot of cabin room.
We also tend to see the cars with engines in the back,
aren't the easiest to work on either as like we said,
they're packed into as tiny of a space as possible.
All platforms can perform incredibly well.
Manufacturers have been able to counteract
a lot of these problems and issues
with improved suspension components, weight distribution,
a lot of testing, driver assists, all that kind of stuff
that really goes into what makes modern sports cars
and modern super cars, what they are.
So that's all great and everything,
but look why does it matter?
Aren't all mid or rear-engine cars super expensive.
Why would I ever consider doing that if I can't
and why am I watching this video?
Well there are actually a lot of affordable
rear mid-engine cars out there right now
that someone like you
or myself could be in the market for.
There are some pretty obvious ones out there,
of course like the Toyota and Mark II and the Pontiac Fiero,
to bring that high end performance field
to a more consumer-friendly market.
You weren't going to spend hundreds of thousands
of dollars on these cars back in the day.
Now today you can pick them up for as little
as like a few thousand dollars.
We do see cars like the first generation Porsche Boxster,
and even the Cayman come down significantly in price.
And you can pick 'em up anywhere between 10 to $20,000.
And I mean, of course, if you can do it
and you can go out there and spend
the hell money on a GT 3RS
or Huracan or McLaren or Lotus or whatever it might be.
And you're really considering getting
into a high performance, mid or rear-engine vehicle,
our recommendation would be to try out
a few different platforms for yourself.
To really understand the different feel
and handling performance that a rear-engine
would give you versus a mid-engine
versus let's say a front-engine,
because when it's all said and done,
there's a reason high-end performance cars
are still being made and are known for having
that mid or rear-engine orientation.
And it really comes down
to what the driver like yourself
is looking for out of their vehicle.
But that is going to wrap it up for today.
Thank you guys so much for watching,
let us know down in the comments,
what your go to mid or rear-engine car would be,
just let us know.
And of course,
check out the giveaway we got going on with H3 flow
for Michelin tires
and Function and Forms suspension,
all at www.fitmentindustries.com.
We've got a bunch of good stuff going on over there
check it out for yourself.
Pick up some dope apparel, get entered into win.
I'm Jarrod from Fitbit Industries.
We will see you later.
Peace.