automotive design Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance (and to some extent the ergonomics) of motor vehicles - including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans. The functional design and development of a modern moto ...

, a FR, or front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one where the

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

is located at the front of the vehicle and driven wheels are located at the rear 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 and torque and rotation, usually ...

. This was the traditional automobile layout for most of the 20th century. Modern designs commonly use the

front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout In automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle. Usage implications Historically, this designation was used reg ...

(FF). It is also used in

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 vehicles, along with buses and trolleybuses. Interior floor height is generally measured above the ...

buses and

school buses 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 transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...

Front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout

, a front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FMR) is one that places the

in the front, with the rear wheels of vehicle being driven. In contrast to the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), the engine is pushed back far enough that its

center of mass In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...

is to the rear of the front axle. This aids in

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 the ...

and reduces the moment of inertia, improving the vehicle's handling. The mechanical layout of an FMR is substantially the same as an FR car. Some models of the same vehicle can be classified as either FR or FMR depending on the length of the installed engine (e.g. 4-cylinder vs. 6-cylinder) and its centre of mass in relation to the front axle.

Characteristics

* 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.

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

s often have FMR layouts, as a rear engine would not leave much space for the rear seats. * FMR should also not be confused with a "front midships" location of the engine, referring to the engine being located fully behind the front axle centerline, in which case a car meeting the above FMR center of mass definition could be classified as a

FR layout In automotive design, a FR, or front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one where the Internal combustion engine, engine is Front-engine design, located at the front of the vehicle and rear-wheel-drive, driven wheels are located at the rear via a ...

instead. The V35

Nissan Skyline The is a brand of automobile originally produced by the Prince Motor Company starting in 1957, and then by Nissan after the two companies merged in 1967. After the merger, the Skyline and its larger counterpart, the Nissan Gloria, were sold i ...

Infiniti G35 The Infiniti G Line is a series of compact executive cars produced by Infiniti, a luxury division of Nissan, for the 1991–1996 and 1999–2016 model years. The first two generations of the Infiniti G (P10 and P11) were sedans based on the Nis ...

Nissan 350Z : The Nissan 350Z (known as Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33) in Japan) is a two-door, two-seater sports car that was manufactured by Nissan Motor Corporation from 2002 until 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered pro ...

are FR cars. * FMR layout came standard in most pre–World War II, front-engine / rear-wheel-drive cars. File:GMLT5.JPG, All

Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctiv ...

from the second generation (model year 1963) through the seventh generation (model year 2019) are FMR layouts as seen in the engine bay of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1. File:Honda F22C Engine.JPG, The

Honda S2000 The Honda S2000 is an open top sports car that was manufactured by Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda, from 1999 until 2009. First shown as a concept car called the SSM at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1995, the production version was launched on ...

engine sits clearly behind the top of the shock towers. File:Morgan 4 4 - Flickr - Alexandre Prévot (1).jpg, The

Morgan +4 The Morgan Plus 4 (or +4) is an automobile produced by the Morgan Motor Company. It is a more powerful and, in the case of the earlier cars, a slightly longer version of the company's previous 4/4 model. Plus 4 production ran from 1950 to 1969 ...

and 4/4 are classic "front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layouts". File:Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren engine.jpg, The engine bay of the

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (C199 / R199 / Z199) is a grand tourer jointly developed by German automotive manufacturer Mercedes-Benz and British automobile manufacturer McLaren Automotive and sold from 2003 to 2009. When the car was develop ...

. File:2006 Maserati Quattroporte - Flickr - The Car Spy (4).jpg, The 4.2-litre V8 in the

Maserati Quattroporte V The Maserati Quattroporte () is a four-door full-size luxury sports sedan produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati. The name translated from Italian means "four doors". The car is currently in its sixth generation, with the first g ...

has FMR layout. File:Dodge Viper Motorraum.JPG, Dodge Viper showing its 8.4l 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

Characteristics

See also

References