In automotive design , an RMR , or rear mid-engine , rear-wheel-drive layout is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed with its center of gravity in front of the rear axle, and thus right behind the passenger compartment. Nowadays more frequently called 'RMR', to acknowledge that certain sporty or performance focused front-engined cars are also "mid-engined", by having the main engine mass behind the front axle, RMR layout cars were previously (until ca. the 1990) just called MR , or mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout ), because the nuance between distinctly front-engined vs. front mid-engined cars often remained undiscussed.
57-980: The Ferrari Enzo (Type F140), officially marketed as Enzo Ferrari , is a mid-engine sports car manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari and named after the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari . It was developed in 2002 using Formula One technology, such as a carbon-fibre body, F1-style automated-shift manual transmission , and carbon fibre-reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) ceramic composite disc brakes, as well as technologies not allowed in F1, such as active aerodynamics. The Enzo generates substantial amounts of downforce through its front underbody flaps, small adjustable rear spoiler and rear diffuser, which work in conjunction to produce 343 kilograms (756 lb) of downforce at 200 km/h (124 mph) and 775 kilograms (1,709 lb) of downforce at 300 km/h (186 mph), before decreasing to 585 kilograms (1,290 lb) at top speed. The Enzo's F140 B V12 engine
114-651: A 7:25.21 lap time. The Enzo in the test had a broken electronic damper. They also tested it at Bedford Autodrome West circuit, where it recorded a 1:21.3 lap time, which is 1.1 seconds slower than the Porsche Carrera GT, but faster than the Litchfield Type-25. In 2004, American magazine Sports Car International named the Ferrari Enzo number three on their list of Top Sports Cars of the 2000s . American magazine Motor Trend Classic named
171-564: A Ferrari and along with Andrea Pininfarina and James Glickenhaus agreed that its official name would be "Ferrari P 4/5 by Pininfarina". Ted West wrote an article in Car and Driver about how this came to be: "The Beast of Turin". The Maserati MC12 is a two-seat mid-engine sports car that is a derivative of the Enzo Ferrari developed by Maserati while under the control of Ferrari. It was developed specifically to be homologated for racing in
228-592: A celebration of Pininfarina 's 75th anniversary , and was introduced at the 2005 Geneva Auto Show . It is an evolution of the MC12 and draws inspiration from the Maserati Tipo Birdcages of the 1960s. There were rumors that Maserati was going to produce the car as the MC13, for which Maserati confirmed to have plans, but they were cancelled due to problems with Pininfarina giving Maserati total control over
285-501: A displacement of 5,998.80 cc (6.0 L; 366.1 cu in) generating a power output of 660 PS (485 kW; 651 hp) at 7,800 rpm and 657 N⋅m (485 lb⋅ft) of torque at 5,500 rpm. The redline is 8,200 rpm. The Enzo has an automated manual transmission (known as the F1 gearbox) using paddle-shifters to control an automatically actuated electrohydraulic clutch and shifting mechanism, with LED lights on
342-500: A few times at Indianapolis between 1939 and 1947. In 1953 Porsche premiered the tiny and altogether new RMR 550 Spyder and in a year it was notoriously winning in the smaller sports and endurance race car classes against much larger cars – a sign of greater things to come. The 718 followed similarly in 1958. But it was not until the late 1950s that RMR reappeared in Grand Prix (today's " Formula One ") races in
399-458: A minority share. Metcalfe created a business plan based on potentially selling his family holiday home in Wales , and although turned down for a loan for the business, he initially financed the three month launch period through a £275,000 loan originally designated to fund a grain storage shed on his farm. Employing a research group, the original name was proposed by them to be Roadsport Magazine (also
456-612: A technological concept with no intention of production. The Millechili was developed in collaboration with the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Millechili Lab is a cross-project in which students are working on light-weight car design. The Ferrari FXX program continued until 2009. The car continued to be improved under the Evoluzione kit, which continually adjusts specifics to generate more power and quicker gear changes, along with reducing
513-478: Is about 11 seconds, on skidpad it has reached 1.05 g , and the top speed has been recorded to be as high as 355 km/h (221 mph). It is rated at 34 litres per 100 kilometres (6.9 mpg ‑US ) in the city, 20 L/100 km (12 mpg ‑US ) on the highway and 29 L/100 km (8.1 mpg ‑US ) combined. Evo tested the Enzo on the famed Nordschleife Circuit and ran
570-531: Is desired, such as in some supercars and in the Group B rally cars. The 1900 NW Rennzweier was one of the first race cars with mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. Other known historical examples include the 1923 Benz Tropfenwagen . It was based on an earlier design named the Rumpler Tropfenwagen in 1921 made by Edmund von Rumpler , an Austrian engineer working at Daimler. The Benz Tropfenwagen
627-509: Is famous for their year-ending Car of the Year issue, inherited from Evo's predecessor publication Performance Car. Members of the Evo staff take the top performance cars, released to market for the year, to public locations suited to high-performance driving and evaluation. For most years there is also a circuit test. Scotland, Wales, France, Italy, and Portugal are some of the featured locations for
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#1732786758926684-413: Is more pronounced with engines mounted behind the rear axle. It is felt that the low polar inertia is crucial in selection of this layout. The mid-engined layout also uses up central space, making it generally only practical for single seating-row sports-cars, with exception to a handful of 2+2 designs . Additionally, some microtrucks use this layout, with a small, low engine beneath a flat load floor above
741-459: Is the Ferrari FXX, introduced in 2005. It was loosely based on the Enzo's design with a highly tuned 6.3-liter version of the Enzo's engine generating a power output of approximately 800 PS (588 kW; 789 hp). The gearbox is specially developed for the car as well as the tires (custom-designed for this car by Bridgestone ) along with the brakes (developed by Brembo ). In addition,
798-450: Is the code name for a prototype sports car to be manufactured by Ferrari . It was a lightweight version of the Enzo Ferrari that would borrow features from Formula One race cars, using the F430 's aluminium space frame on a 104.3-inch (2,650 mm) wheelbase. The hybrid power train utilising a V10 engine used in the car would exceed 610 PS (449 kW; 602 hp). The car was mainly
855-606: The FIA GT Championship , with a minimum requirement of 25 road versions to be produced before the car could be allowed to compete. Maserati built 50 units, all of which were presold to selected customers. A track-only variation, the MC12 Corsa was later developed, similar to the Ferrari FXX . The Maserati MC12 has the same engine, chassis, and gearbox as the Enzo but the only externally visible component from
912-509: The Ferrari FXX , although the owners are private individuals, Maserati is responsible for the storage, upkeep, and maintenance of the cars, and they are only driven on specially organized track days . Unlike the FXX, the MC12 Corsa is not intended for research and development, and is used only for entertainment. A single MC12 Versione Corse has been modified by its owner to make it street-legal
969-730: The Isetta or the Zündapp Janus . The first rear mid-engined road car after WW II was the 1962 (Rene) Bonnet / Matra Djet , which used the 1108cc Renault Sierra engine, mated to the transaxle from the FWD Renault Estafette van. Nearly 1700 were built until 1967. This was followed by the first De Tomaso, the Vallelunga , which mated a tuned Ford Cortina 1500 Kent engine to a VW transaxle with Hewland gearsets. Introduced at Turin in 1963, 58 were built 1964–68. A similar car
1026-519: The Middle East They are a little different from the original, and feature more localized content relevant to the respective countries. Editors & writers of the international editions are usually invited for test drives by many performance car companies, from major marques such as Porsche , to small supercar builders such as Pagani and Gumpert . In addition to the names above, it is worth noting that Evo occasionally makes reference to
1083-464: The gearbox and differential . This represented an extremely innovative sportscar at a time when all of its competitors (aside from the rear-engined Porsches), from Ferraris to Aston Martins , were traditional front-engined, rear-wheel-drive grand tourers. The Pontiac Fiero was a mid-engined sports car that was built by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1984 to 1988. The Fiero
1140-462: The traction control system were made in order to make the car more responsive around the track. The modifications also allow the Evoluzione to reach a top speed of 365 km/h (227 mph). Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout In contrast to the fully rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout , the center of mass of the engine is in front of the rear axle. This layout is typically chosen for its favorable weight distribution . Placing
1197-457: The 400th Enzo in June 2005, selling for €195,500 (US$ 236,300). The engine in the Enzo is longitudinally mounted , and the car has a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout with a 44%/56% front/rear weight distribution. The powerplant is Ferrari's F140B naturally aspirated 65° V12 engine with DOHC 4 valves per cylinder, variable valve timing and Bosch Motronic ME7 fuel injection with
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#17327867589261254-577: The Enzo as number four in their list of the ten "Greatest Ferraris of all time". However, the Ferrari Enzo was described as one of the "Fifty Ugliest Cars of the Past 50 Years", as Bloomberg Businessweek cited its superfluous curves and angles as too flashy, particularly the V-shaped hood, scooped-out doors, and bulbous windshield. Before being unveiled at the Paris Motor Show , the show car
1311-527: The Enzo before, specifically on the UK motoring show Top Gear , and the Nurbürgring Nordschleife (at colder outside temperatures). However, this could be attributed to the MC12's Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires which have more grip than the Enzo's Bridgestone Scuderia tires. The Maserati Birdcage 75th is a concept car created by automobile manufacturer Maserati and designed by Pininfarina , as
1368-504: The Enzo is the windshield. Due to this, the Maserati MC12 is sometimes nicknamed the "Second Generation Ferrari Enzo". The MC12 is slower in acceleration (0–100 km/h or 0–62 mph being achieved in 3.8 seconds), has a lower top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph) due to engine tuning and less drag coefficient (due to a sharper nose and smoother curves) than the Enzo Ferrari. However, the MC12 has lapped race tracks faster than
1425-613: The Evo-gang and approach that had been created, Metcalfe asked the Sales Director to approach his friend Felix Dennis about a counter bid. Dennis Publishing acquired the title in April 2001, with a readership of 40,000. Dennis Publishing enabled the magazine to reduce its costs in both printing, distribution as well as IT; as well as increasing subscriptions and distribution, especially overseas licensing. The online Evo Forum at
1482-526: The Vatican for charity, which was later sold at a Sotheby's auction for US$ 1.1 million. A total of 498 units were built. Three development mules were built: M1, M2, and M3. Each mule utilised the bodywork of a 348 , a model which had been succeeded by two generations of mid-engined V8 sports cars—the F355 and the 360 Modena —by the time the mules were built. The third mule was offered for auction alongside
1539-567: The automotive industry and celebrity automotive enthusiasts have made contributions to Evo , including Gordon Murray , Jeff Daniels , and occasionally Rowan Atkinson . Other contributors are John Simister, Ian Fraser, Martin Buckley, David Yu, Tony Bailey, Paul Bailey, Simon George and Richard Porter. There are also international editions of Evo for France , Italy , Singapore , Croatia , Czech Republic , Greece , Turkey , Philippines , Malaysia , Thailand , Ukraine , India , Spain and
1596-478: The cabin, complemented with anti-roll bars at the front and rear. The Enzo uses 19-inch (482.6 mm) wheels and has 15-inch (381.0 mm) Brembo disc brakes. The wheels are held by a single lug nut and fitted with Bridgestone Potenza Scuderia RE050A tyres. One-way downhill with 1-foot rollout the Enzo can accelerate to 97 km/h (60 mph) in 3.14 seconds and can reach 161 km/h (100 mph) in 6.6 seconds. The ¼-mile (~400 m) time
1653-405: The car is fitted with extensive data-recording and telemetry systems to allow Ferrari to record the car's behavior. This information is used by Ferrari to develop their future sports cars. The FXX can do 0 to 97 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 2.8 seconds. Like the Enzo, the car was sold to specially selected existing clients of Ferrari only. The initial price was €1.3 million. Unlike the Enzo,
1710-452: The car rapidly as well. The RMR layout generally has a lower tendency to understeer . However, since there is less weight over the front wheels, under acceleration the front of the car can be prone to lift and still have understeer . Most rear-engine layouts have historically been used in smaller vehicles, because the weight of the engine at the rear has an adverse effect on a larger car's handling, making it 'tail-heavy', although this effect
1767-460: The car's aerodynamic drag . The V12 engine under the Evoluzione kit generates 860 PS (633 kW; 848 hp) at 9,500 rpm and enables the car to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 2.5 seconds. Certain changes were made to the gearbox in order to reduce the shift time to 60 milliseconds per shift, a reduction of 20 milliseconds over the original FXX. The car also underwent aerodynamic changes and improvements to
Ferrari Enzo - Misplaced Pages Continue
1824-437: The car's heaviest component within the wheelbase minimizes its rotational inertia around the vertical axis, facilitating turn-in or yaw angle . Also, a near 50/50% weight distribution, with a slight rear weight bias, gives a very favorable balance, with plenty of weight on the driven rear axle under acceleration, while distributing the weight fairly evenly under braking, thereby making optimal use of all four wheels to decelerate
1881-432: The clients did not take delivery of the car themselves. Rather, it is maintained and kept by Ferrari and available for the client's use on various circuits as arranged by Ferrari and also during private track sessions. A famous example of this is when Ferrari allowed Top Gear to send it around their test track in 2009. However, as Ben Collins (then portraying The Stig ) wasn't a specially selected client, Michael Schumacher
1938-514: The conversion was carried out by German tuning firm Edo Competition. Only twelve MC12 Versione Corses were sold to selected customers, each of whom paid €1 million (US$ 1.47 million) for the privilege. Another three vehicles were produced for testing and publicity purposes. The Versione Corse shares its engine with the MC12 GT1; the power plant produces 755 PS (555 kW; 745 hp) at 8,000 rpm, 122 PS (90 kW; 120 hp) more than
1995-546: The design of the car. The Maserati MC12 Versione Corse is a variant of the MC12 intended for racetrack use. In contrast to the race version of the MC12, of which street-legal versions were produced for homologation purposes, the MC12 Versione Corse is intended for private use, albeit restricted to the track, as the Versione Corse's modifications make it illegal to drive on the road. The Versione Corse
2052-509: The first Maserati Ghibli Cup in 1994, through which he had made contacts into the motoring media. After EMAP decided to integrate specialist magazine Performance Car into Car magazine in 1998, Metcalfe and motoring journalist John Barker began forming plans to fill what they saw as a gap in the specialist motoring magazine market. Metcalfe formed the business and would run the business side, with Barker joined by writers including Richard Meaden, David Vivian and Peter Tomalin all holding
2109-698: The form of the Cooper - Climax (1957), soon followed by cars from BRM and Lotus . Ferrari and Porsche soon made Grand Prix RMR attempts with less initial success. The mid-engined layout was brought back to Indianapolis in 1961 by the Cooper Car Company with Jack Brabham running as high as third and finishing ninth. Cooper did not return, but from 1963 on British built mid-engined cars from constructors like Brabham , Lotus and Lola competed regularly and in 1965 Lotus won Indy with their Type 38 . Rear mid-engines were widely used in microcars like
2166-579: The future cars section. After proving successful in branding, the name stuck. The first issue of Evo was produced in November 1998, and after the publication of the third issue in January 1999 - the Car Of The Year edition - the business was cash flow positive, with a worldwide readership of 30,000. Later writers included Henry Catchpole, Jethro Bovingdon, Russell Bulgin and Chris Harris . Evo
2223-404: The name of a hill climbing journal). At a group brain storming session one day, after pointing out that there was a mobile phone company called Orange and a magazine called Red - neither of which included what they did in the title, but had an association with their market - whilst flicking through Autocar magazine Metcalfe suggested Evo based on seeing a Maserati Quattroporte Evoluzione in
2280-626: The point of takeover was consuming over half of the IT infrastructure costs, but not producing any revenue. Unable to form a positive business plan, the Evo Forum was shut down. Metcalfe continued as Editorial Director of Evo in Dennis' growing Automotive division, which included Auto Express , then the later purchases of Octane magazine and Land Rover Monthly as well as the new launches Carbuyer and DrivingElectric . Dennis' automotive publishing division
2337-437: The reader in the driving experience of any particular car, and all other aspects are considered secondary to this all emotive 'drive'. While hard data is accumulated in the form of lap-times (for which Evo regularly uses Bedford Autodrome ), cornering speeds, and straight-line performance figures, the subjective nature of the driving experience is the paramount factor by which cars are graded by Evo . Many prominent members of
Ferrari Enzo - Misplaced Pages Continue
2394-535: The rear wheel-wells. This makes it possible to move the cab right to the front of the vehicle, thus increasing the loading area at the expense of slightly reduced load depth. In modern racing cars, RMR is a common configuration and is usually synonymous with "mid-engine". Due to its weight distribution and the favorable vehicle dynamics it produces, this layout is heavily employed in open-wheel Formula racing cars (such as Formula One and IndyCar ) as well as most purpose-built sports racing cars . This configuration
2451-589: The road-legal MC12. The MC12 Versione Corse shares the GT1's shortened nose, which was a requirement for entry into the American Le Mans Series . The car was available in a single standard colour, named "Blue Victory", though the car's paint could be customized upon request. The MC12 Versione Corse possesses steel/carbon racing brakes, but is not fitted with an anti-lock braking system . Millechili, Italian for one thousand (mille) kilograms (chili),
2508-410: The steering wheel telling the driver when to change gears. The gearbox has a shift time of 150 milliseconds and was built by Graziano Trasmissioni . The transmission was a first-generation "clutchless" design from the late 1990s, and there have been complaints about its abrupt shifting. The Enzo has four-wheel independent suspension with push-rod-actuated shock absorbers, which can be adjusted from
2565-504: The term 'friends of Evo' . Some of these individuals submit contributions to the magazine, in the form of submissions outlining their experience with their own motorcars. Current such vehicles include the Porsche Carrera GT , Pagani Zonda and Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 . This is a slightly different take on the 'fleet' theme often adopted by motoring publications, as the vehicles featured are often press-demonstrators. Evo
2622-518: Was aimed, created and edited to be a virtual maverick car club, with typical stunts including buying and driving an original Audi Quattro to the launch of the Audi TT in Italy, and the forming of a supercar pool including a Ferrari F40 . Conscious that the business's success was bound to a single 13x a year publication, Metcalfe was approached by Future Publishing to sell the business. Conscious of
2679-454: Was also common in smaller-engined 1950s microcars , in which the engines did not take up much space. Because of successes in motorsport, the RMR platform has been commonly used in many road-going sports cars despite the inherent challenges of design, maintenance and lack of cargo space. The similar mid-engine, four-wheel-drive layout gives many of the same advantages and is used when extra traction
2736-606: Was designed by Ferdinand Porsche along with Willy Walb and Hans Nibel . It raced in 1923 and 1924 and was most successful in the Italian Grand Prix in Monza where it stood fourth. Later, Ferdinand Porsche used mid-engine design concept towards the Auto Union Grand Prix cars of the 1930s which became the first winning RMR racers. They were decades before their time, although MR Miller Specials raced
2793-470: Was developed directly from the MC12 GT1, which won the 2005 FIA GT Manufacturers Cup. The car was released in mid-2006, "in response to the customer demand to own the MC12 racing car and fueled by the growth in track days, where owners can drive their cars at high speeds in the safety of a race track", as stated by Edward Butler, General Manager for Maserati in Australia and New Zealand. In similar fashion to
2850-556: Was flown from Italy to the U.S. to be filmed in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle . It was driven on a beach by actress Demi Moore . After filming was complete, the Enzo was flown to France to be at the Motor Show. Ferrari decided to use some of the technology developed for the Enzo in a small-scale program to get more feedback from certain customers for use in future car design as well as their racing program. The core of this program
2907-521: Was looking for a backer. After sending out feelers to its clients, American Ferrari collector James Glickenhaus eventually agreed to back the project by commissioning his car as a modern homage to great Ferrari sports racing cars such as the 330 P3/4, 512 S, 312 P, and 333 SP on the last unregistered U.S.-spec Enzo chassis. The car was named the Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina, and retains the Enzo's drivetrain and vehicle identification number . The car
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#17327867589262964-479: Was selected to wear the white race suit. In the FXX, he set a then new lap record of 1:10.7, a record which was then immediately taken off as the car is not expected to be suitable for road use. The Ferrari FXX program was continued until 2009 with the Ferrari FXX Evoluzione. Italian design studio Pininfarina had wanted to make a special one-off sports car based on the Enzo Ferrari flagship and
3021-485: Was spun-off as independent company called Autovia in 2021. Autovia was acquired by automotive online marketplace and content company Carwow in February 2024. Evo is now published 12 times a year, with Stuart Gallagher the current editor, with former editors including Peter Tomalin, John Barker and Richard Meaden. Owned by Dennis Publishing and going by the tag-line "The thrill of driving", Evo attempts to immerse
3078-614: Was the Renault-engined Lotus Europa , built from 1966 to 1975. Finally, in 1966, the Lamborghini Miura was the first high performance mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive road car. The concept behind the Miura was that of putting on the road a grand tourer featuring state-of-the-art racing-car technology of the time; hence the Miura was powered by a V12 transversely mounted between the rear wheels, solidal to
3135-452: Was the first of a new generation for Ferrari. The Enzo was designed by Ken Okuyama , the then Pininfarina head of design, and initially announced at the 2002 Paris Motor Show with a limited production run of 399 units. The company sent invitations to existing customers, specifically, those who had previously bought the F40 and F50 . In 2004, the 400th production car was built and donated to
3192-458: Was the first two-seater Pontiac since the 1926 to 1938 coupes, and also the first mass-produced mid-engine sports car by a U.S. manufacturer. Evo (magazine) Evo is a British automobile magazine dedicated to performance cars, from hot hatches to supercars published by Carwow . In 1995, then Harpenden -based farmer and property developer Harry Metcalfe had become involved in car tests for magazine publishers, after he purchased
3249-578: Was unveiled at the 2006 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and appeared in the September issue of Car and Driver . After its unveiling at Pebble Beach, the P4/5 returned to Europe for high-speed testing, press days, and an appearance at the Paris Auto Show in September 2006. Upon seeing the P4/5, the president of Ferrari Luca di Montezemolo felt that the car deserved to be officially badged as
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