4-573: The Rover Scarab was a convertible four seater intended to sell at £85, and had a V twin engine of only 839 cc, which was rear mounted. Despite the engine position, the Scarab had a conventional (dummy) radiator grille at the front. Some other 1930s rear engined cars had a down-curved grille-less front. These included the Porsche Type 12 prototype, the Mercedes-Benz 120 test car, and
8-403: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rear-engine design In automobile design , a rear-engine design layout places the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine itself is behind the rear axle. This is not to be confused with the center of gravity of the whole vehicle, as an imbalance of such proportions would make it impossible to keep
12-565: The front wheels on the ground. Rear-engined vehicles almost always have a rear-wheel drive car layout , but some are four wheel drive . This layout has the following features: This layout was once popular in small, inexpensive cars and light commercial vehicles. Today most car makers have abandoned the layout although it does continue in some expensive cars, like the Porsche 911 . It is also used in some racing car applications, low-floor buses , some Type-D school buses , and microcars such as
16-723: The subsequent 130 / 150 / 170 H , the Tatra V570 prototype, T77 , 77A , T87 and T97 and of course the KdF-Wagen (later better known as the Volkswagen Beetle ; see Volkswagen controversy ). Only a few Scarabs were built, examples being shown at the London (Olympia) Motor Show and the Scottish Motor Show, both in 1931. This article about a classic pre-war automobile produced between 1930 and 1945
#639360