A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and

rear-wheel-drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-whee ...

, connected via a

drive shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power (physics), power, torque, and rotation, usually ...

. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the traditional automobile layout for most of the pre-1950s automotive mechanical projects. It is also used in trucks, pickups, and

high-floor High-floor describes the interior flooring of commuter vehicles primarily used in public transport such as trains, light rail cars and other rail transport, rail vehicles, along with buses and trolleybuses. Interior floor height is generally mea ...

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es and

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to Student transport, transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter ...

es.

Front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout

A front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FMR) places the engine in the front half of the vehicle but ''behind'' the front axle, which likewise drives the rear wheels via a driveshaft. Shifting the engine's

center of mass In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the d ...

rearward aids in front/rear

weight distribution Weight distribution is the apportioning of weight within a vehicle, especially cars, airplanes, and trains. Typically, it is written in the form ''x''/''y'', where ''x'' is the percentage of weight in the front, and ''y'' is the percentage in t ...

and reduces the

moment of inertia The moment of inertia, otherwise known as the mass moment of inertia, angular/rotational mass, second moment of mass, or most accurately, rotational inertia, of a rigid body is defined relatively to a rotational axis. It is the ratio between ...

, both of which improve a vehicle's handling. FMR cars are often characterized by a long hood and front wheels that are pushed forward to the corners of the vehicle, close to the front bumper. 2+2-style

grand tourer A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving with performance and luxury. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with ...

s often have FMR layouts, as a rear engine does not leave much space for rear seats.

Gallery

File:Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum August 2013 23 (1940 Oldsmobile powertrain).jpg, 1940

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...

chassis showing a typical front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout File:1968 AMC AMX yellow 390 auto md-er.jpg, The 390 cid V8 engine in a FR 1968 AMC AMX functionally straddles its front axle, with the centerline of the shock towers basically bisecting the center of the air cleaner File:E-Type Jag 4.2-litre engine 2022.jpg, The straight-6 DOHC XK engine clearly sits behind the front axle of an FMR

Jaguar E-Type The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British FMR layout, front mid-engined sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars, Jaguar Cars Ltd from 1961 to 1974. Its sleek appearance, advanced technologies, ...

File:GMLT5.JPG, All

Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a line of American two-door, two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by General Motors under the Chevrolet marque since 1953. Throughout eight generations, indicated sequentially as C1 to C8, the Corvette is not ...

from the second through the seventh generation are FMR. Only ancillary aspects of this Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1's engine may lie above the front axle. File:Dodge Viper Motorraum.JPG, An FMR

Dodge Viper The Dodge Viper is a sports car that was manufactured by Dodge (by Street & Racing Technology, SRT for 2013 and 2014), a division of American car manufacturer Chrysler from 1992 until 2017, having taken a brief hiatus in 2007 and from 2011 to 20 ...

showing its 8.4 L V10 positioned behind the car’s front axle

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Front-Engine, Rear-Wheel Drive Layout Car layouts

Front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout

Gallery

See also

References