Thought Experiment- Small SUVs/CUVs with Longitudinal Engines

Audi? I realize I'm so far out of the loop on the newer stuff that I have no idea whether they still have mostly longitudinal engines. And I just flat have no idea on the manual options, and probably lose badly on weight...

Strangely, this just got posted on Bangshift today - does it count as a crossover?

AMC Eagle with 360 V8 swap

Also, nobody's mentioned the Subaru Forester, but all the Subaru crossovers use that layout.

I was just beat to it but I’m shocked we made it to page 2 before someone mentioned Subaru. Everything they make is longitudinal though only the BRZ is rwd. Most can be had with manuals too. 

T1-T3 Touareg (same chassis as Cayennes)

spandak said:

I was just beat to it but I’m shocked we made it to page 2 before someone mentioned Subaru. Everything they make is longitudinal though only the BRZ is rwd. Most can be had with manuals too. 

2018 was the last year for the stick shift Forester. Crosstrek is still manual - that's a lifted Impreza.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

The two door S10 Blazer and Jimmy are easy to drop and make handle. Tons of factory wheel options. Easy and well documented V8 swap.

Im now wondering if the Explorer/Mountaineer/Navigator came in rwd only in the later years. Not sure exactly how but maybe a 4.6/manual swap from a Mustang GT would work on the older rwd Navajo/Explorer

In reply to ebonyandivory :

When I bought my truck, the other vehicle option was a blazer extreme 4.3/5-spd

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ : the Trailblazer, Envoy etc. has the power advantage.  All aluminum DOHC 4 valve engine starts out with 270 hp  later versions had 290.  More?  Supercharge it, then it’s 370 horsepower.  More?  It’s GM so use the flex fuel sensor to use E85.   on 290 horsepower you should pick up 40-50 hp.  More with a supercharger.  

ProDarwin said:

sleepyhead said:

In reply to John Welsh :

also dug a smidge deeper, and realized the rear is a stick axle... so maybe better for DragWeek than some other more twisty-turny challenging events

Most of the stuff in this thread is way too tall to be used for twisty-turny stuff.  

I would image the BMW and FX stuff would be best.  FX has ~1:1 height vs track width from the factory.

Tall isn’t quite the issue you think. Most of the tall part is air space,  not a lot of weight,  mostly just head room for ease of entry.  

With regard IRS Versus straight axle, that really doesn’t matter that much on smooth race tracks.  Weight/horsepower will probably be more of a factor.  

ProDarwin said:

All of the BMW SUVs

the X1 is Mini based.

Probably not what you’re looking for, but the early-to-mid 80’s Tercel wagons had a longitudinal 1.5 liter Toyota A-series engine, could be had with a manual “six-speed” (creeper first with five standard car-like ratios 2nd-6th) and are under 2500 pounds! The drivetrain consists of a modified FWD transaxle that was designed for 65hp or so, plus an 80’s Corolla-sourced solid rear axle that does OK in 85hp RWD Corollas. No, the 4A-G doesn’t bolt in thanks to the 4WD getting in the way of the pan/block.

I may have wiled away an evening or two wondering what one would be like with neutered front hubs, a beefier rear axle (using one of the AE86 axle bracket kits on the market) plus a more-modern RWD engine/trans nestled as far back as possible, and a custom driveshaft. It would make a hilarious and even somewhat practical sleeper!

John Welsh said:

Kia Sorento offered a 3.5L V6 with manual trans and just rwd. 

I will buy the transmission from this vehicle on sight. Been trying for years to find one for a reasonable price. 

frenchyd said:

Tall isn’t quite the issue you think. Most of the tall part is air space,  not a lot of weight,  mostly just head room for ease of entry.  

Tell that to the Fiat 500, Fiesta, etc.

mad_machine said:

ProDarwin said:

All of the BMW SUVs

the X1 is Mini based.

looks like they switched over to transverse for 2nd gen?  The first gen ones have a front engine rwd layout.

In reply to ProDarwin :

Yeah, the first generation X1 was just an E91 with a different body.  All of the suspension pieces swap between them, the only difference is longer springs and dampers.  Which is kind of awesome, since they made an N55 version.  Its really the only way to get a turbo 6 cylinder in a 3-series wagon in the US without swapping.  

I found a 2000 Kia Sportage with a manual trans and longitudinal engine on Facebook marketplace this morning. My phone isn't letting me copy the link on my phone. I will try on my computer later today. It's in Atlanta, IL if you want to search for it.

Edit: Link: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/144279606518793/?surface=product_details

Ransom said:

Audi? I realize I'm so far out of the loop on the newer stuff that I have no idea whether they still have mostly longitudinal engines. And I just flat have no idea on the manual options, and probably lose badly on weight...

All Audis are longitudinal except for the rebadged/reboxed Jettas.  A4s and up are longitudinal, A3s are not.  (Do they still even make the TT?)

I doubt they make a manual transmission anymore.  Audi is so deep into shoving the drivetrain as far back in the engine bay as possible that they are actually putting the front differential between the flexplate and torque converter.  It's kind of silly, really.  Modern Audis have less overhang than transverse engined cars, and the transverse car will have its entire drivetrain in front of the front axle, while Audi hangs most of the transmission behind the front axle.  It's nothing at all like the early days where the car felt like you were driving a twin axle trailer because the car was all overhang and no wheelbase.

Knurled. said:

Ransom said:

Audi? I realize I'm so far out of the loop on the newer stuff that I have no idea whether they still have mostly longitudinal engines. And I just flat have no idea on the manual options, and probably lose badly on weight...

All Audis are longitudinal except for the rebadged/reboxed Jettas.  A4s and up are longitudinal, A3s are not.  (Do they still even make the TT?)

cars.com says so, also there's like 8 signed up for OneLap this year.  I might be exaggerating about OneLap... but not by as much as you think