People's Choice: Mid-Engined Musings

[amoore100]

Tuesday’s GM-related People’s Choice was rife with bugs and complaints, perhaps fitting given the subject (I’m still angry with myself for picturing the wrong generation Commodore). Today let’s get back to basics and look at three of the earliest attainable rear mid-engined sports cars; Matra discovered the layout in 1962 with the Djet, and several sporting European manufacturers quickly jumped on the bandwagon through the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

Fiat of course had the venerable X1/9 with Gandini’s wonderful Bertone language

Porsche had the in-house Klie designed, VW flat-four engined 914

Lotus created a fiberglass Renault-engined “breadvan” inspired by their racers

So what’s your pick? Italian, German, or British?

[Mercedes_Pagoda_230SL]

@amoore100 Lotus or death

[tophercrowder]

@amoore100 That lotus has shades of the Ford Maverick Concept in it...or vice versa

[WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAthenGTInowA4]

I went through a phase as a teen where I was obsessed with 914's. So that for me.

[amoore100]

@tophercrowder I always thought the Europa had a really weird shape. Like, yeah, the engine's back there, but why is the bodyside so high up? It's practically a two-box shape!

maybe the rest of the car is just extra low

[amoore100]

@WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAthenGTInowA4 we have a family friend who lives with us and he told me about a 914 he owned in the '80s which had such bad heat (because air-cooled) that he rigged a hair dryer to the electrical system so his girlfriend at the time could be warm!

[Lanciere]

@amoore100 I read it as Mid-Engined Mustangs

[amoore100]

@Lanciere what a concept that was! imagine if they follow in the Corvette's footsteps...

[MUSASHI66]

@amoore100 Fiat is the prettiest. One of those Breadvans came to cars and coffee recently. It’s…. It’s not really “pretty”.

[farscythe]

@Mercedes_500E_W124 or?
shouldnt that be and?

[415s30]

Can I has a 914-6 ?

[Mercedes_Pagoda_230SL]

@farscythe or death

[415s30]

@MUSASHI66 The wider race cars look better, but that is generally true of any car.

[facw]

@amoore100 Tough choice for me between the Fiat and the Porsche but ultimately I think the X1/9 is cooler to look at.

[farscythe]

@Mercedes_500E_W124 clearly you have never driven a lotus before
death will happen
the only question is yours.....or its!
(source me! makin shit up as i go mostly)

[amoore100]

@MUSASHI66 that gen1 Elise in the back

[Snakesm13]

@amoore100

Mine was certainly more than a pleasure to drive. It was an entire experience. I can only assume the Fiat brings at least 70% of that to the table but I’d have to drive one for myself. Lotus? There are other option I’d choose before that.

[1969r16]

@amoore100 Europa highback is my choice. They have the same engine and transaxle as my R16, just mounted backwards. The later ones (low back) have a Lotus/Ford twin cam.

I saw this one at a show last year. I dig the color combo and red Cosmic MK2s.

[amoore100]

@Snakesm13 wow, what a gorgeous color! did the VW mechanicals make it slightly easier to take care of than, say, a 'bespoke' Porsche? it seems like the other two here might be harder to source parts for stateside.

[amoore100]

@1969r16 hah! I had no idea it was the entire 'power unit' from Renault as it were, though it makes sense to keep the mechanicals mostly from the same place. What's the difference in styling between the Renault and the Ford engined models? The 'low-back' doesn't seem too noticeably lower in a preliminary Google search.

[lokerola]

914 for me. Awesome looking little cars.

[1969r16]

@amoore100 Highback:

Lowback:

The engine cover is slightly lower on the later ones, and it gives the car a different look overall.

Europa engine bay:

My R16’s engine bay:

[john norris]

@415s30 said in People's Choice: Mid-Engined Musings:

Can I has a 914-6 ?

My thought exactly. I mean even if it came with a 4 you could swap in a 6.

[amoore100]

@1969r16 ah, I see now. I was expecting it to be even lower like the rear deck on the Fiat/Porsche, but it seems the Lotus is just a smaller, lower car so it needs the engine hump! It definitely makes the car more of a 2.5 box shape than pure 'breadvan'.

[Snakesm13]

@amoore100 said in People's Choice: Mid-Engined Musings:

@Snakesm13 wow, what a gorgeous color! did the VW mechanicals make it slightly easier to take care of than, say, a 'bespoke' Porsche? it seems like the other two here might be harder to source parts for stateside.

Thanks! Even on my Cayenne I can use some VW sourced bits so I guess not much has changed. The running cost and lack of complexity in the 914 is so low that it really doesn’t matter. There are many places to get parts. It’s one of the few Porsches that the initial cost isn’t just the “entry fee”. I only gave $6k for that one. Prices have skyrocketed since though.