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.
40-685: The Opel Speedster is a mid-engined , targa-topped , two-seat sports car produced by German automaker Opel from July 2000 to July 2005. It was built in both RHD and LHD versions at the Lotus Cars plant in Hethel , Norfolk , England. It was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1999 and went into full production the following year. It was sold by Vauxhall as the VX220 in
80-445: A handful of 2+2 designs . Additionally, some microtrucks use this layout, with a small, low engine beneath a flat load floor above 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
120-462: A removable hardtop that drew inspiration from the Dodge Viper roadster, an aggressive body kit, and an oversized spoiler. Engine is rated 325 hp (242 kW). It includes 18-inch wheels with Goodyear Eagle F1 255/45ZR18 tires, cat-back performance exhaust system, T-2 race suspension package, along with larger diameter disc brakes. The car was unveiled at the 2005 SEMA Show . This vehicle
160-531: 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 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
200-531: 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 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
240-460: Is featured as Jazz in the 2007 film Transformers . The GXP-R concept is a modified GXP with an engine rated 300 hp (224 kW) and 315 lb⋅ft (427 N⋅m) of torque. It includes an SSBC Performance Brake Package and 19-inch x 8.5-inch wheels with Goodyear Eagle F1 245/40ZR19 tires. The car was unveiled at the 2006 SEMA Show . The SD-290 race concept is a single-seat Solstice GXP with engine rated 290 hp (216 kW). Weight
280-713: Is in contrast to over 64,000 of the Pontiac Solstice Convertibles that were manufactured. Summary of all 1,266 Pontiac Solstice Coupes Built: Starting in April 2009 the Wilmington, DE. plant was business as usual and pre-production builds began for the 2010 model year. Between April 21, 2009 and May 28, 2009 thirty 2010 model year VIN-coded cars were built on the Kappa platform. Of those, were 12 Pontiac Solstice Coupes and 8 Pontiac Solstice roadsters. Of
320-583: Is reduced by installing driver-side only windscreen and elimination of door glass/hardware, convertible top/hardware, HVAC system and wiper system. It includes Solo Performance cat-back exhaust system, KW Automotive coil-over suspension package, 6-piston aluminum calipers with 13-inch (330 mm) rotors from Stainless Steel Brake Company, forged 19-inch wheels with Hoosier R6 racing tire, rear spoiler, Removable racing-style steering wheel, Racing seat with four-point safety harness, Chrome fire extinguisher, Pegasus center console gauge package, Driver's roll bar The car
360-639: 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 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
400-497: 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 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 –
440-605: 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 the Isetta or the Zündapp Janus . The first rear mid-engined road car after WW II
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#1732790805802480-701: The Opel GT , that GM Europe had a replacement sector product, albeit with no RHD version for the United Kingdom. The final production number of the Speedster was only 7,207. The Opel ECO Speedster is a concept car made by Opel in 2002. Related to the production Opel Speedster, it is a two-door coupe with two seats, gullwing doors , and no wing mirrors . It was displayed at the 2002 Paris Motor Show . Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout In contrast to
520-526: The Toyota Celica , the Speedster was designed to use a 2.2 L (130 cu in) GM Ecotec engine from the Opel Astra . Neither engine had been used in the original Elise, which was fitted with a 1.8-litre Rover K-Series engine . In order to accommodate the production of the new cars, Lotus expanded its Hethel factory to a capacity of 10,000 cars, with around 3,500 slots allocated towards
560-464: 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
600-517: The 2006 model year. It is powered by a naturally aspirated 2.4 L I4 engine, producing 177 hp (132 kW) and 166 lb⋅ft (225 N⋅m) of torque. The exterior styling of the production Solstice is similar to that of the 2002 Solstice concept that preceded it. Production of the Solstice was to be running before summer 2005, but delays at the Wilmington plant pushed volume production to
640-586: The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) for 2006. It was a runaway hit for Pontiac, with 7,000 orders in the first 10 days of availability and 6,000 more orders before winter. Although first-year production was planned at 7,000, GM apologized to customers for delays and increased production, delivering 10,000 by March 1. Following the 2008 economic recession, GM discontinued the Pontiac division. Production ended with
680-473: The Coupe Concept was a metallic orange. The car was unveiled at the 2008 SEMA Show . The sharing of technology and various components is a common practice among automakers, resulting in reduced parts costs. The Solstice shares major components with nearly every GM division: In April 2009, after GM announced the discontinuation of the Pontiac brand by the end of 2010, CEO Fritz Henderson stated that
720-610: 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
760-600: The Solstice would not continue under another GM brand. Although they considered selling the Wilmington plant and the Solstice/Sky products to an outside business, the Wilmington assembly plant closed in July 2009. In October 2009, the new DeLorean Motor Company expressed interest in continuing production of the Solstice, going so far as to release concept artwork for a 2011 DeLorean Solstice. These plans were shelved shortly thereafter, when Fisker Automotive instead acquired
800-527: The Speedster considerably more powerful than the Series 2 Elise was at launch. As an answer to calls for a more powerful version of the Speedster, Opel introduced a new two-litre turbocharged version of the Ecotec engine, which produced 200 hp (203 PS; 149 kW), but also weighed slightly more at 930 kg (2,050 lb). In 2004, a limited run of sixty track-focused Speedsters were produced for
840-464: The Speedster. Production of the Speedster commenced in March 2001. The Speedster utilized an aluminium frame that weighed only 72 kg (159 lb), and bodywork made entirely of fibreglass . The entire car weighed 875 kg (1,929 lb), making it roughly 100 kg (220 lb) lighter than the similarly sized Toyota MR2 . The Speedster's all-aluminium alloy 2.2 L Z22SE engine produced 145 hp (147 PS; 108 kW), making
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#1732790805802880-518: The United Kingdom and shared much in common with the Lotus Elise , although Opel claimed few parts were interchangeable. Due to changes in European crash safety regulations for the 2000 model year , Lotus needed to replace the original Elise . In October 1999, a deal was made between Lotus and General Motors in order for the former to gain sufficient funds to develop a new Elise. As part of
920-505: The United Kingdom. The Vauxhall VXR220 was equipped with larger brakes, upgraded tyres and lowered suspension, and tuned to produce 220 hp (223 PS; 164 kW). Other features included further performance-oriented seats and unique Speedline alloy wheels . The wheels were 16 inches at the front and 17 inches at the rear, the same as on the Elise. Calypso Red was the only available exterior colour. The turbocharged Speedster
960-627: The closure of the Wilmington Assembly plant in July 2009. The GXP version of the Solstice debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January 2006. It is powered by a new 2.0 Liter (121.9 cu in ) I4 Ecotec engine equipped with a dual-scroll turbocharger . The engine's output is 260 hp (194 kW) and 260 lb⋅ft (353 N⋅m). This is the highest specific output of any engine by cubic inches in
1000-472: The deal, Lotus agreed to develop and produce the Opel Speedster and Vauxhall VX220 on a variation of its new Series 2 Elise chassis, having a 30mm longer wheelbase and lower door sills compared to its Lotus counterpart. The first Speedster concept car was shown at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show . Whilst the new Elise would use a 1.8 L (110 cu in) Toyota ZZ engine , similar to that found in
1040-489: 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 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
1080-694: The fourth quarter. The new hardtop targa top 2009 model was announced in mid-2008. The Solstice uses the GM Kappa platform , which also underpins the Saturn Sky , Opel GT , and Daewoo G2X. It was the brand's first two-seater since the Pontiac Fiero was discontinued in 1988. The Solstice was nominated for the North American Car of the Year award and Design of the Year award from
1120-424: 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 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
1160-521: The history of General Motors at 2.1 hp (1.6 kW) per cubic inch, and it is the first gasoline direct injection engine from an American automaker. According to pontiac.com, the GXP accelerates from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in under 5.5 seconds. Other GXP features include standard Stabilitrak traction control , a limited-slip differential , and anti-lock brakes . Summer tires on 18-inch wheels are standard. An available dealer installed option
1200-451: 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 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
1240-1473: The last ones made at the plant. -(QFX) P245/45R18 all-season, blackwall tires -Exterior color (22U) Fresh (Hydro Blue Metallic) -Exterior color (28U) Brazen (Inferno Orange Metallic) -Exterior color (38U) Envious (Emerald Green Metallic) -Exterior color (48U) Deep (Blue) -Exterior color (75U) Sly (Dark Steel Gray Metallic) -Exterior color (GHF) Hypnotic (Ocean Blue Metallic)( premium paint) -Exterior color (GGW) Sly (Storm Gray Metallic) -(QKR) P245/45R18-96V performance, all-season radial tires (standard on 2MB67 Convertible and 2MB07 Coupe) -(BAY), (B4N), (BAZ) and (BIG) Heritage Editions -(BTV) Remote vehicle start (Included and only available with (MX0) 5-speed automatic transmission) -(20T) Blue Top (Included and only available with Heritage Edition Convertibles ) -(AU0) Remote Keyless Entry, with 2 transmitters, panic button and content theft alarm, RPO Code has changed to "(ATG)" Heritage Edition, includes Blue or White Rally Stripe, Blue accent stitching on seats, steering wheel and shift knob (manual transmission only), (Q9Y) 18-inch polished aluminum split-spoke wheels, interior trim (192) Ebony leather seating surfaces and (20T) Blue cloth convertible top (Convertible). Only available with exterior colors (50U) Pure (Summit White) with Blue Rally Stripe or (GHF) Hypnotic (Ocean Blue Metallic) with White Rally Stripe. NHTSA crash test ratings (2007): Built by GM Performance Division, this special Solstice features
Opel Speedster - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-482: The other remaining, 8 were Saturn SKYs and 2 were Opel GTs. They were then used as GM company vehicles to be evaluated and also as special event display vehicles. These vehicles were built to the 2010 model year specs with 2010 model year changes and had legal 2010 VINs. Following the end of use term within the GM fleet, the vehicles were sent to auction. After these 30 2010 models, more 2009-spec Solstices were produced and were
1320-455: The trunk. An optional cloth top is available, which can be fitted into the trunk. The car went on sale in early 2009. The Pontiac Solstice Coupes are considered to be quite rare: There were a total of 1,266 Solstice Coupes that were able to be manufactured before the production line in Wilmington, Delaware was shut down: 102 pre-production 2009 models, 1,152 sequentially vin'd regular production 2009 models, and 12 pre-production 2010 models. This
1360-412: 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 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
1400-426: Was a modified computer tune and two new sensors that resulted in an increased output to 290 bhp (216 kW; 294 PS) and 340 lb⋅ft (461 N⋅m), further enhancing the performance of the GXP model. A targa coupe version of the Solstice was unveiled at the 2008 New York Auto Show . Engine choices are the same as the convertible versions. The roof can be removed, but the hard roof cannot be fitted into
1440-537: Was able to reach a top speed of 242 km/h (150 mph) and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.7 seconds. In 2005, General Motors introduced a Daewoo badged Vauxhall VX220 at Incheon International Airport in South Korea at the GM Daewoo showroom. However, only one was built for marketing purposes while the car was sold as an Opel Speedster. In April 2001, comedian Griff Rhys Jones
1480-598: Was dismissed by Vauxhall following an advert for the VX220 the previous year that drew negative attention, with Vauxhall stating that they wanted to move in a different direction. The advert was also voted “Worst of the Year” by an industry magazine. Production ended on 22 July 2005, after five years, with no direct successor. It was not until February 2007, when GM Europe adopted the Pontiac Solstice / Saturn Sky into
1520-533: 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 was
1560-423: 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. Pontiac Solstice The Pontiac Solstice is a sports car that was produced by Pontiac from 2005 to 2010. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show , the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware , starting in mid-2005 for
1600-407: Was unveiled at the 2006 SEMA Show . The Solstice GXP Coupe concept is based on the GXP coupe. It is equipped with a GM Performance Parts Stage 2 performance kit and a performance air intake kit, which boosts engine power to about 290 hp (216 kW). The car also includes a GM Performance Parts cat-back exhaust system and race-ready suspension kit, polished factory wheels. The first version of
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