Most competition cars use this MR drivetrain design, and so do many high-performance sports cars.The MR layout was first widely used in single-seat racing cars. In a narrow, rear-wheel drive single-seater, the driveshaft of a front mounted engine must pass underneath or beside the driver. This means that the body will be higher or wider than otherwise. For a single-seat racing car, decreased frontal area for less aerodynamic drag is an advantage of the mid-engine design. When mid-engined single-seat racers gained acceptance in the late 1950s, two-seat sports-racers were developed from them. Mid-engine high-performance road cars followed.

The MR design can also decrease the frontal area of a two-seat sports car, and allow other aerodynamic advantages. But perhaps the most important advantage of the design for a high-performance vehicle is that it concentrates the vehicle

 

I agree with Steve C. on this point. While the S2000 and many other new cars do carry the engine between the front and rear wheels it does not concentrate the engine, transmission, and driver mass (for a low polar moment) as well as the traditional (mid-engine) layout. They are entirely different layouts!

The conventional definition of "mid-engined" is clearly generally understood to have the engine behind the driver in front of the rear axle. This is why auto manufacturers have come up with new terms (such as "front mid") to describe a car with an engine placement like the S2000.

Disagree?? See what kind of reaction you get from a group of Ferrari owners after you walk up and start talking about driving a mid-engined S2000..........

 

 

I quibble with the notion that "front mid engine" is a new term. My Lotus Elan, which was first manufactured in 1964 (that's 40 years ago for those struggling with new math) is a front mid engined car. Interestingly, this car has a rear weight bias, i.e. there is more weight over the rear wheels than the front. At the time it was introduced, it was considered the best handling sports car on the road.

The current handling champ is the Lotus Elise, and it has its engine behind the driver. Modern engineering thinking takes polar moment of inertia and air flow over and under the veicle into account. As mentioned previously in this thread, moving the engine behind the driver permits the car to be lower and for lower frontal area.

 

Handling champ? Sure I guess if you leave a dozen or so cars out of the competition ...

 

....and the names of that dozen would be ????

 

1. ariel

 

2. Radical
3. Exige S2
4. EVO MR320
....

I can go on...

 

Whatever you say Steve, but I've owned, tracked, and driven what you would call a "real mid-engine car" and the S2000 is also a mid-engine car, so obviously you're wrong (unless I'm the exception that proves the rule).

The engine is rarely ever "really in the middle." Most front-mid designs have it well ahead of the center point, and most rear-mid designs have it well behind, and you are correct when you say that each setup feels different. It's not, however, because the polar moment is higher with a front-mid setup. The big difference is that rear-mid setups usually have a rear weight bias to go along with the low polar moment.

 

Formula cars don't feel that way, because your head is closer to the rear tires, but mid-rear cars that put the driver close to the center of the wheelbase are odd feeling, especially when you spin. They also tend to rock over bumps, around the driver, rather than jarring him up and down.