(car engine revving)
- Cars, trucks, vans,
after over a century of innovation,
automakers all agree to put the
engine in the front.
Why do we do this?
What about cars where you pop the trunk?
Porches, Volkswagens.
What about those cars
with the engines in the middle?
What about super cars?
Rear engine vehicles represent
some of the best selling
and best performing cars out there.
So, I have to ask the question:
Why are most car engines in the front?
Buckle up, babe.
(laughs) It's Wheelhouse time.
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The answer is more of a story than an answer.
It's a world ride to automotive history.
From Germany to Detroit, to rough (beep) Canada.
But first, if you want the short boring answer,
here it is:
Front engine front wheel drive vehicles
are more forgiving the steer since the weight
of the engine is over the front wheels.
That gives them more traction.
That means it's easier for your less talented drivers
to not spin out on icy roads.
It's also more economical to cool the engine
if it's in the front.
So, it's cheaper to manufacture.
Thanks for watching, like and subscribe.
Thanks.
If you're still here, that means you want the good answer.
Come with me.
Let's go back in time.
(old school upbeat music)
In the 19th century, most horseless carriages
had rear mounted engines with
rear wheel drive.
In 1895, French automaker Panhard,
made the first front mounted engine with rear wheel drive.
To accomplish this, they invented the modern transmission.
This design was superior
to rear mounted designs at the time,
because it distributed the weight evenly
between the front and rear wheels,
which improved the handling
and gave the front wheels more traction.
I'm not sure how much handling is required
when you're traveling at the speed of smell,
but it was a huge accomplishment.
Front engine rear wheel drive became the standard
with Ford cranking out 16,500,000 model t's
from 1908 to 1927,
and all other car makers followed suit.
In 1934, Mercedes Benz looked at engine placement
and asked a very German question:
"Why don't we try it in the trunk ya?"
This rear end freak fest,
produced the model 130h.
Czech manufacturer Tatra, followed suit
and started producing rear engine cars.
The rear engine design race peak in 1938,
when Volkswagen released the Beetle,
designed by Ferdinand Porsche.
Yeah, that Porsche.
Tatra immediately sued VW,
due to the Beetles similarity
to Tatra's rear engine V570 and 97.
VW was able to avoid a lawsuit
by Germany invaded Czechoslovakia.
They did wind up paying a settlement after the war though,
remember guys, war can't solve all your problems.
The VW Beetle was cheap and economical.
The original Beetle got 32 miles to the gallon
and sold like toilet paper in a quarantine, nope (beep).
The original Beetles got 32 miles to the gallon
and sold like Animal Crossing in a pandemic.
After the success of the Beetle,
Everybody was dabbling with back row bangers.
Rear engine, rear wheel drive cars
were great for acceleration,
since the engine weight is right on the rear tires.
The main problem though, is oversteer.
Since all the weight is in the back,
tight turns tend to make the rear of the car swing around
in a fashion some refer to as (beep) dude.
Many tried, but few succeeded in making a rear engine,
rear wheel drive vehicle that handled well.
They accelerate like a dragster
and kind of handle like a dragster.
The first real success in that department
was the Porsche 911.
Yes, that Porsche.
The 911 came out in 1964 with a flat 16 pack.
And they got around the oversteer issue by keeping the car
low and the wheelbase shorter than the Beetle.
That's right, sure.
Some other popular rear engine vehicles include
the DeLorean DMC 12
and the Alpine a110.
Not surprisingly, these cars are two-door coupes.
Rear engine, rear wheel drive cars,
pretty much had to be until the Corvair.
(old school upbeat music)
It's the only American car with an air-cooled rear engine.
And engine that sat behind the rear tires
meant no floor bump to get in the way of your feet.
The only problem though, they've had a pretty long wheelbase
for rear engine parts.
108 inches, 20 inches longer than the 911.
Nevertheless, they sold like beef cakes laced with gravy.
One buyer was a young politician by the name Ralph Nader.
After driving the car, he became concerned
about the car's handling ability.
He published the book "Unsafe at any speed" in 1965.
The book scrutinized the entire automotive industry,
but was especially critical of the Corvair,
calling it, I quote, "one car accident".
Most people do Leave a bad yelp review,
but that's not Nader's style baby,
Nader gang. (laughs)
According to the book, The Corvair's
swing axle rear suspension would cause the rear tires
to quote, tuck-under around turns,
which would cause the car to drift.
And since the front suspension had no anti roll bar,
the Corvair would be prone to rollovers,
a sedan with rollovers.
That's insane.
By the time the book came out,
Chevy had already redesigned the Corvair
with a four wheel independent suspension,
but it was too late.
"Unsafe at any speed" was a bombshell
and people took notice.
Corvair sales were cut in half, in 1966.
People were afraid to buy rear engine cars
that were Unsafe at any speed.
I don't blame them.
Chevy decided to move on
and production after the 1969 model year.
Nice.
And Ralph Nader went on to run for president
like a million times.
Nader gang.
In the meantime, automakers kept messing
with front engine layouts.
The British Motor Corporation asked a very British question.
"Why don't we make our automobiles as small as possible?
"So we stay out of other people's away
because we're polite and meek and love to cue (beep)."
That's my British accent, I'm sorry.
That's right.
I'm talking about the mini
designer Alec Issigonis, had the bright idea
of engineering the transmission into the oil sump,
flipping the engine around to minimize the engine footprint,
so you could squeeze it under a hood,
that was a little over four feet wide.
The engine could only make 33 horsepower,
but since the car was so tiny and light,
it was enough power for the Brits.
I mean, I really want one of these things.
Transverse engines allowed the hood to be shortened
and per passenger space to be maximized inside.
Plenty of companies from Fiat, Volvo
to even Land Rover use transverse engines,
but none as awesomely as a 1965 Lamborghini Miura,
which use a B12 transverse engine
mid mounted behind the two seats.
That's right.
The transverse engine went from this,
(car engine revving) to this, in six years.
Anyway, back in Detroit,
the big three we're focusing on the front engine,
rear wheel drive layout, producing some cars,
you might have heard them around like Mustang,
Camaro, Firebird, the Charger, et cetera.
With the engine in the front, there was no danger
of oversteer unless you push that gas baby.
That's what I'm talking about.
They actually have a bit of understeer,
but the engine weight improves the front tire traction
so it's easier for your average driver to corner.
It's also cheaper and easier to put a radiator
in the front of the car,
and running hoses all the way to the back
sucks from a design efficiency and maintenance standpoint.
It makes sense to have your radiator engine
in the same place.
Speaking of understeer, shout out to my Miata gang.
Speaking of which, check out our new show "Money Pit"
Zeck job does that exact thing to a Miata.
I can't wait to see this thing finished.
I can't wait to drive it.
Hopefully he lets me (beep).
Thus began the muscle car era,
with the big three and AMC trying to cram
as many horsepowers as possible into a car.
But when you want more horsies that usually
means a bigger, heavier engine.
As engines got beefier.
You got a little more power mo toke mo took, yeah.
All right, we'll keep that.
But less weight on the back wheels which decreases
rear wheel traction and acceleration.
To keep some weight on the back tires,
you have to move the engine further back
and you push the passengers back
towards the rear axle
and you're left with an enormous hood.
I'm talking 80s Camaro, 70s Firebird,
70s Chargers, pretty much every muscle car ever.
They got some big (beep) long (beep).
If you push the engine far enough back,
you actually get a front-mid engine car.
If the engine is between the front axle and the passenger
compartment, it's technically mid-engine,
but front mid-engine.
Eventually you're going to say enough is enough.
If you're already sacrificing passenger area
and want to maximize power and handling,
you have to rethink engine placement.
Take the Corvette, for example, the C7 Corvette
was basically the best front engine rear wheel drive car
that Chevy could design.
But this year, they're finally delivering
the mid-engine Corvette.
It's called the CA.
Not only does it offer up to 700 horsepower, rumored,
it's going to be the best handling Corvette ever.
Why does moving the Corvettes engine back,
improve handling?
With the engine behind the two front seats,
but in front of the rear axle, the Corvette center
of gravity is in the middle of the car,
which means a lower polar moment of inertia.
I'm sorry, did you think you're getting through this without
learning some rotational dynamics?
You're in the science zone (beep).
(bright upbeat music)
Alright, the polar moment of inertia.
Think about a figure skater spinning.
When they pull their arms in, they spin quicker.
Think about, think about you
sitting in an office chair spinning around,
when you pull your arms in you speak faster,
and if you can put your arms and legs out
you spin slower.
Why is that?
(gentle upbeat music)
The same principle applies to cars.
If your car's center of mass is centrally located,
it can change direction quickly and with less effort.
Amid the engine layout also improves braking.
With the weight of the engine distributed evenly
across all four tires, all four brakes help equally.
(beep) That's why mid engine vehicles
are the best handling, most expensive
two-seat vehicles on the planet.
Here you've BMW IA's, it's your Audi R8's,
it's a Porsche Cayman's, most Ferrari's and Lamborghini's,
McLaren's lotus's, or is it low tide?
No, no.
Anyway, to sum it up, let's run down
the pros and cons of each engine location.
Rear engine, they got great acceleration,
but there's less weight on the front tires.
You're more likely to Tokyo Drift,
if you don't know what you're doing.
Mid-engine, awesome handling and braking
but no room for extra passengers or luggage.
And generally they're expensive to ship.
Front engine, they're prone to a bit of understeer,
but maximum traction on the front tires.
They're spacious and they're cheap to build.
Automakers have proven that, they can make rear
and mid-engine designs work super well.
But most customers want a real second row of seats
and they generally don't need all that performance
for driving the children to Chili's.
They offer a cheaper, more spacious
front engine car that's good enough.
You know what, money talks?
The front engine cars have one, at least for now.
I want to hear from you.
What are your experiences with driving rear engine cars?
Have you ever driven an exotic with a mid-engine?
Do you have an engine placement preference?
Does anyone have a CA I can borrow?
Hey, thanks for watching.
I really hope you're getting through quarantine all right.
If this video looks a little less good,
that's because I filmed it in my apartment
on the webcam, this quarantine thing has been crazy.
I'm gonna be totally honest with you guys,
it's weird and lonely for me too
but we're going to do our best here at Donut
to keep cranking out the content for you guys,
keeping minds off things,
'cause you know what, that's my purpose in my face
to keep the positivity up,
keep it optimistic, you have a lot of choices
out there on what to watch.
And thank you for choosing Donut.
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Be kind, let's look out for each other.
I'll see you next time.
Oh man, I need to get more goldfish.