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FR layout. A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Systeme Panhard [1] is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the traditional automobile layout for most of the pre-1950s automotive mechanical projects. [2]
Early cars using the FWD layout include the 1925 Alvis, 1929 Cord L-29, 1931 DKW F1, the 1948 Citroën 2CV, 1949 Saab 92, the 1957 Trabant P50, and the 1959 Mini.In the 1980s, the traction and packaging advantages of this layout caused many compact and mid-sized vehicle makers to adopt it in the US.
The configuration of a car body is typically determined by the layout of the engine, passenger and luggage compartments, which can be shared or separately articulated. A key design feature is the car's roof-supporting pillars, designated from front to rear of the car as A-pillar, B-pillar, C-pillar and D-pillar.
The powertrain layout of a motorised vehicle such as a car is often defined by the location of the engine or motors and the drive wheels. Layouts can roughly be divided into three categories: front-wheel drive (FWD), rear-wheel drive (RWD) and four-wheel drive (4WD).
The layout has occasionally seen renewed interest as a potential option for innovative car designs, such as in the 1999 patent application of inventor–engineer Michael Basnett at the former Rover Group, which proposed a front transaxle, rear quasi-flat engine (an inline-4, turned 90 degrees) architecture, with the fuel tank placed where the ...
The radical 1930s Tatra format (air-cooled, rear engine and streamlined, teardrop design) was an influence on Ferdinand Porsche's 'People's Car' for Adolf Hitler. As well as being the most produced car ever, it set a trend for RR small cars that lasted well into the 1960s.
F4 layout. In automotive design, an F4, or front-engine, four-wheel drive (4WD) layout places the internal combustion engine at the front of the vehicle and drives all four roadwheels. This layout is typically chosen for better control on many surfaces, and is an important part of rally racing, as well as off-road driving. In terms of racing ...
FMF layout. In automotive design, a front-mid-engine, front-wheel-drive 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 placed just behind them, in front of the passenger compartment. [1] [2] [3] [4]