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 mot ...

, a front-

mid-engine In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout ...

front-wheel-drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional l ...

layout (also called more simply "mid-engine, front-wheel-drive layout", and abbreviated MF or FMF) is one in which the front road wheels are driven by an

internal-combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

placed just behind them, in front of the passenger compartment. In contrast to 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 rega ...

(FF), the

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 ...

of the engine is behind the front axle. This layout is typically chosen for its better

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 ...

(the heaviest component is near the center of the car, lowering its

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 ...

). Many early successful (and mostly French) mass-produced front-wheel drive cars used the MF layout, until the 1959 BMC (Austin / Morris) Mini demonstrated the layout and passenger car packaging benefits of mounting the engine transversely in front of the front axle. At first – when well executed – the packaging, space utilization and user experience of MF layout, even in a subcompact or supermini, like the

Renault 16 The Renault 16 (R16) is a large family car hatchback manufactured and marketed over a single generation by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France — and widely noted as the first French winner of the European Car o ...

Renault 5 The Renault 5 is a five-passenger, three or five-door, front-engine, front-wheel drive hatchback supermini manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault over two generations: 1972–1985 (also called R5) and 1984–1996 (also call ...

, made many people consider the differences between the FF and MF layouts to be minor. Chassisroulant

However, the mid-engined layout uses central space. The FF layout has since completely supplanted the MF layout, and almost all manufacturers currently fit transverse engines. Examples of road cars using the MF layout include the

Cord 810 The Cord 810, and later Cord 812, was a luxury automobile produced by the Cord Automobile division of the Auburn Automobile Company in 1936 and 1937. It was the first American-designed and built front wheel drive car with independent front suspen ...

, BSA Scout,

Citroën Traction Avant The Citroën Traction Avant () is the world's first mass-produced, semi-monocoque bodied, front-wheel drive car. A range of mostly four-door saloon (automobile), saloons and executive cars, as well as longer wheelbased ''"Commerciale"'', and thre ...

Citroën DS The Citroën DS () is a Front-mid-engine, front-wheel-drive layout, front mid-engined, front-wheel drive executive car manufactured and marketed by Citroën from 1955 to 1975, in fastback/sedan, wagon/estate, and convertible body configurations ...

Renault 4 The Renault 4, or R4 in short (and 4L, pronounced "Quatrelle" in French ), is an economy car built by the French company Renault from 1961 to 1994. Although the Renault 4 was first marketed as a short estate or wagon, its minimal rear o ...

(and derivatives R5 and R6),

Saab 900 The Saab 900 is a mid-sized automobile produced by Swedish manufacturer Saab from 1978 until 1998 in two generations: the first from 1978 to 1994, and the second from 1994 to 1998. The first-generation car was based on the Saab 99 chassis, ...

Saab Sonett The Saab Sonett is an automobile manufactured by Swedish automaker Saab between 1955 and 1957 and again between 1966 and 1974. The Sonett share its engines and other mechanical components with the Saab 93, 95 and 96 of the same era. It was mai ...

I, the

Citroën SM The Citroën SM is a high-performance coupé produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1970 to 1975. The SM placed third in the 1971 European Car of the Year contest, trailing its stablemate Citroën GS, and won the 1972 Motor Trend Car ...

, and the

Mitsubishi FTO The Mitsubishi FTO is a Front mid-engine, front-wheel-drive layout, front mid-engined, front-wheel drive coupe produced by Mitsubishi Motors between 1994 and 2000. Originally planned exclusively for the Japanese domestic market, its popularity as ...

, as well as some commercial vehicles like the

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

Matador. These vehicles have

longitudinal Longitudinal is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Longitude ** Line of longitude, also called a meridian * Longitudinal engine, an internal combustion engine in which the crankshaft is oriented along the long axis of the vehicle, ...

mounted engines;

transverse Transverse may refer to: *Transverse engine, an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle *Transverse flute, a flute that is held horizontally * Transverse force (or ''Euler force''), the tangen ...

engined vehicles are possible in theory if the issue of passenger footwell location is addressed. The

Toyota iQ The Toyota iQ is a city car manufactured by Toyota and marketed in a single generation for Japan (2008–2016); Europe (2008–2015); and North America (2012–2015), where it was marketed as the Scion iQ. A rebadged variant was marketed in Euro ...

comes close to this by having its front differential in front of the engine, however despite this, the iQ is still considered to have an

FF 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 rega ...

. Traditionally, the term ''mid-engine'' has been reserved for cars that place the engine and

transaxle A transaxle is single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission (mechanics), transmission, axle, and differential (mechanics), differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual tra ...

behind the driver and in front of the rear axles , as in the

Lamborghini Countach The Lamborghini Countach ( ) is a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini from 1974 until 1990. It is one of the many exotic designs dev ...

Ferrari Testarossa The Ferrari Testarossa (Type F110) is a 12-cylinder mid-engine sports car manufactured by Ferrari, which went into production in 1984 as the successor to the Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer. The Pininfarina-designed car was originally produced from ...

, but an engine placed in front of the driver's compartment but fully behind the front axle line also qualifies as ''mid-engine''.

Gallery

Citroën Berline 7A aka Traction (very very early one) 1303cc 1934.JPG,

revolutionized auto design with its low slung unibody design bodywork. 1973 Citroën D Spécial sedan (2011-05-12) 02.jpg, The 1955–1975

successor packed full of innovations, but retained the MF layout Sonett-mk1-red.jpg,

mk1 used the MF layout by turning the engine and running it "backwards". Renault 5 First generation with 5 doors in Spain.jpg, The 1972

was one of the last successful mid-engine, front-wheel-drive cars. Nissan Motorsports - Nissan GT-R LM Nismo -23 (18860958202).jpg, The Nissan GT-R LM Nismo was the only Le Mans Prototype race car with a front-mid-engine, front-wheel-drive layout.

References

{{Automobile configuration Car layouts