ENGINE PLACEMENT PART THREE: REAR-ENGINE

The last and final category out of all the cars today is the 'rear-engine' car. This is the rarest breed, for they require a lot of engineering attention to bring out the advantages of having the engine located at the back of the car. Unlike front-engine cars, rear-engine cars have most of the weight of the car at the very back, which makes the car prone to oversteer. Oversteer occurs when the rear tires lose traction, and cause the entire to move sideways. The main difference between a rear-engine car and a mid-engine car depends the engine's exact location of the car. If it is placed behind the rear axle (towards the outside of the car), it is counted as a rear-engine car. On the other hand, if it is placed in front of the rear axle (towards the inside of the car), it can be seen as a mid-engine car. 

2013 Porsche 911 Carrera  GT3

Rear-engine cars tend to be rear-wheel drive (RWD), because the rear wheels have more grip than the front wheels thanks to the engine's weight and location of the car. There are a couple of rear-engine cars that are all wheel drive (AWD), and they are mostly aimed at the snowy/wet regions of the automotive market.


Because the engine is in the rear of the car, the trunk of rear-engine cars is located at the front. Similar to mid-engine cars, the interior space is often limited and can only hold up to two adults. Whether the car is easy to live with would depend on the car itself.

One of the most famous rear-engine, rear-wheel drive cars is the class-leading Porsche 911 Carrera (all models). The people at Porsche have stuck with the rear-engine, rear-wheel drive combo for several decades with their flat-six engine. Through many generations, they have set the benchmark of the fun-to-drive nature.