30 - 40 years ago bugs where everywhere. Today, not so much.

I'd be interesting in knowing if people today have owned mid-engined or rear engined cars vice the more common stick the engine in the hood (aka bonnet)?

Personally, I can say we have had 3 mid-engined and 2 rear-engined cars so its no big deal but I just dont know the experience of the younger people who may have never even seen an original VW Bug or maybe a Porsche 914 or any mid-engined car never minded owned and driven one every day (which is a totally different experience).

Anybody ...?

 

I am just buttoning up the rebuilt engine of the Porsche 911 I have owned for 10 years and can't wait to drive it again. The car is a joy to drive when everything is working but I've modded a lot of stuff so things never quite work like factory stuff. The rear engine was a plus when we had a huge rainstorm and an underpass was flooded. Everybody else was stopped for fear of drowning their engine, I just plowed through with a giant wake coming up over the hood but didn't affect the engine out back at all. And the car has great grip in winter as well, and the engine placement has an advantage under braking.

 

I used to drive my Dad's '71 Beetle many years ago. In fact, that's the car I learned to drive a stick in.

 

I once owned a '79 Fiat X1/9 (mid-engine). It was a very fun car to drive but was totally gutless. It still had a carburetor and points. It had a front trunk (the radiator was up in the nose and the targa top stored there) and a small trunk in the rear behind the engine. The spare tire was located behind the passenger seat in front of the firewall. You used to have to remove the spare tire and a small access cover to get at the distributor and the points. The engine sat transverse and it was a real bear to change the fan belt. It had good traction in the winter but because the front end was so light and so low, it was all together to easy to run up on the snow and not be able to steer. Ah, to be young and foolish again.

 

didn't personally own one, but had driven a couple in the past and
the porsche was fun to drive...but not on a hot day. those fan cooling
didn't work too well in the SanBernardino heat.

 

i was driving my father's 996 C2 on a circuit at zhu hai.... was a perfectly balanced car... front feels unable to grip... but u have to learn to trust that it's gripping.... and just lean on the car... learn to trust that it will reach the other side and it'd reward very good driving...

 

a buddy in high school had an old beetle that was a BLAST in the rain. you could get it sideways and dance all over the place, a ton of fun, and since it was all happening at 15-25 mph not too dangerous either. lol that was redneck drifting 25 years before drifting was a sport.

 

I have owned a couple of 911s over the years (81 SC and a 94 C4 widebody), and I really miss them. Lift throttle oversteer in the '81 was scary as hell and pretty much prepared me for anything else I may drive. Trouble was, I am 6' 6" and didn't fit well in the 911, especially with a helmet (not possible). The MINI is huge fun, and I fit with a helmet. That means this one goes on the track .

And I learned to drive in a 74 beetle. Funny thing was that little car was actually reasonably quick, and could even chirp the tires going to second gear. There was this guy in a ratty old mustang that always raced me when we would end up beside each other at a stop light. I always took him off the line .

So I guess you can say I actually think the engine belongs in the back! The MINI is a holdover until I can get another 911 and maybe race prep it!

 

I'm only 21 so my experience with cars (much less mid/rear engine) is limited. Tomorrow, my Lotus Europa S2 will be here (YAY ) and that will be my first mid-engined car. My best friend drove an '89 MR2 for the past three years and sold it today after being rear ended a few months ago. My dad had a Fiat X1/9 for a while and hasn't had a mid-engined car since . He said the CV joint took a dump on the way home from the dealer .

Why do I not think my Europa is going to make my dad think any higher of mid-engined cars... .

 

Had an MR2 Mark 1 lot of fun but could be a handful in the wet.

 

A friend of mine brought into the US 1 of 500 Europas made for racing (homogulation (sp)). In other words, they had to make 500 cars to race them. I wish you the best with that car. Be ware of the ghost of Lucas

Also be very aware ... he took his precious baby out one day to a picnic taking people for rides on the twisties and lost it in a corner totally destroying it. He was devasted.

Have fun and BE safe!

 

I had an 87 MR2 (bought it new) and it was fun, but tiny, being a 2 -seater and all. I moved and it wasn't practical on my road (no snowplow) and my dog wouldn't fit in it, so I sold it.

 

So many positions for the motor: rear, mid-rear, mid-front, front. Not sure what category the Smart falls into though.

For my driving style mid-front was best handling. The most responsive car I owned was a mid-front 289 Cobra (although it was scary on the track). The most responsive car I have driven was a mid-rear Brabham (although not on the street). That was a lifetime ago.

Nowadays an affordable and practical mid-rear is the MR2.

 

Too bad Toyota seems to be going the way of Chevy and killing off all their sports cars. My friends MR2 was an '89 and we added f/r strut bars and sway bars. That thing was amazingly neutral with a bit of lift off oversteer. I loved driving it.

 

My father and many buddies had original VW bugs. I've had two 914's.

 

Not young here. Having owned severeal VWs and driven a few more I find oversteer to be desirable. It seems to me that it is now considered to be a bad characteristic. With oversteer you know where you stand . . . if it be off the road, well, you know where you are.

 

Hum, couple of beetles around the mid '60s, then, '58 (damen), '60 (super 75), and '65 356, 68 912 (w/Maestro Motor), '68 911L & '71 911T, '73 & '75 914. Most recent was about 20 years ago. It was hard to get a 356 going fast enough to get into too much trouble. The early 911's were treacherous if you lifted throttle at the wrong time. The 914's were neutral, but I hated the off center steering wheel. Always ended up sitting sideways.

I still love the sound of an air cooled P-wagon at full song.

 

I had well still have its just out of commison right now a Mark 2 Mr2 Turbo thats fairly heavely mod'd. Tons of fun with the engine in the middle. Not much like a BOV going off right behind you ears hehe. Always thought in the back of your mind your thinking snap oversteer snap oversteer.

Good times

 

That's true . . . it isn't a job for the slo hand.

 

Like many on this thread, I learned to drive in a bug ('68). Not bad for what it was, but the oversteer was terrifying. My next car was an '84 RX-7. The engine is in the front, but it's a rotary so it's positioned way back in the engine bay. Best handling car I had 'till I got my MINI

 

Yup