ENGINE POSITION

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1937, Page 20

ENGINE POSITION

ROOMINESS IN CARS SEARCH FOR THE IDEAL New ideas in car design may turn the chassis back to front with the engine at the rear and the drive on the fore axle. It is just as likely, however, that the engine will be moved further forward or mounted in the centre of the chassis frame. It is for designers to decide, since each of these engine positions are mechanically practicable. When the chief idea of car designers was to make their efforts look like carriages, the engine was installed at the back of the body. Further development increased the size of the engine, and it was found more convenient to lay it horizontally in front, although the car was still driven from the back axle. Now there are indications of changing it round again, so that more space can be given to the body, and all the seats of the car can lie between the two axles, a more comfortable arrangement than having the rear seats above the back axle. The possibilities of front drive proved impracticable for several reasons. Front drive efficiency depends on the concentration of weight over the front axle, and with all the mechanism immediately in front of the driver, the car becomes too noisy. The weight of evidence, too, is that traction is not so good as with the rear wheel drive. Cars have been developed with the whole of the mechanism concentrated at the rear—engine, gearbox, and drive —leaving the chassis free of all mechanism except the steering gear. This allows the front seats to be moved, and the rear seats to be much nearer to the centre of the car, while the body space in general is increased. Great engineering difficulty, however, has been met with in getting mechanical perfection. There is yet idea, however, by which the engine is shifted further forward, right at the nose of the frame, to increase body space, and bring the seats within the wheelbase. American engines in nearly all cases have been moved forward in recent years.