4 cylinder mid engine cars?

[Franken]

Also rear engine not mid.

Is it? I can't find much information - and no chassis cut-away diagrams. But this pic of the gearbox tends to indicate that the engine is forward of the rear axles?

Also looking at the side shot the rear wheels are so far towards the back of the car I can't really see where an engine would go?

 

[Matthew]

I know the 1st generation Smart Fortwo is rear engine. The engine is on the right with the half shaft passing in front of the oil pan. Not sure about any other models. I would think they are pretty much the same but maybe not.

Edit: According to Wikipedia the roadster is in fact mid-engine.

 

[Franken]

Has anyone driven one of these Roadster things? When you read the reviews they all say that its a bit of a "posers" or "hairdressers" car and that it handles great but is underpowered and slow. Last time I heard that it was about X1/9's so I'm intrigued to know if its a well kept secret like our little cars?!

In Australia they only came with the semi-auto gearbox though - which by all reports is woeful. Although I guess it would not be impossible to add a hydraulic clutch controlled by a pedal and a mechanical gear linkage to replace any computer-driven trickery...

Looks like they can be had for not a great deal of $.

 

[REDMR2]

Lots of choices, 308 ferrari, Lambo Jalpa, etc...

No more than four cylinders, please.

 

[fastx19]

Dooh! Sorry, didn't see that part...

Sigh...

 

[m5art]

technically they are rear engine but,

how about Ultimate Rally Machine of late 1960s and 1970s - Renault Alpine A110?
and pre 1976 Renault Alpine A310?

 

[wildman]

isnt a pantera more rear engined?

 

[Sandgroper]

More British

The Opel Speedster ( based on the Elise S2 ) modified to accept a General Motors engine in place of the Rover K-series engine

You could say it is a Lotus as the design was by Lotus but sold as the Vauxhall VX220, Daewoo speedster and the Opel speedster in the rest of Europe.
The NA aluminium alloy 2.2 L Z22SE engine / 145 bhp / 1,918 lb & the turbo Opel 2.0 L Z20LET engine / 197 bhp but weighed 930 kg

AND

MG F ( mentioned prev ) and the later MG TF were mid-engined, rear wheel drive roadster cars designed and produced by Rover.
The MG sold successfully - which includes outselling the Mazda MX-5 and Toyota MR2 in the UK.

Given the discussion on the forum about blown head gaskets it is interesting that the reputation for blown HG's on this MG saw them move to MLS and resolve the weakness on the engine.


A vote for MLS?