mad_machine wrote: anybody notice how often he had the rear step out a touch in the corners?
Isn't that what mid-engined cars are supposed to do? Especially after giving them a lil' more power?
mad_machine wrote: anybody notice how often he had the rear step out a touch in the corners?
Isn't that what mid-engined cars are supposed to do? Especially after giving them a lil' more power?
yes, but I did not notice the renault or the Porche having that problem.. and those drivers were probably trying hard to keep up.
And having the rear step out on a mid-engined car is not always a good thing. Sometimes they get very hard to catch
mad_machine wrote: yes, but I did not notice the renault or the Porche having that problem.. and those drivers were probably trying hard to keep up. And having the rear step out on a mid-engined car is not always a good thing. Sometimes they get very hard to catch
Good point. I guess I shoulda put a smiley on that comment.
Mid engine cars tend to be more of a "Market Liability" than market advantage in many ways. The typical car buyer expects the engine to be under the hood, not else where in the car. This is only the first marketing problem. To top this off, since putting most of the weight near or at the CG results in a low polar moment of inertia, the car will tend to spin at it's CG too. This is clearly illustrated when any real mid-engine race car looses it and watching the resulting spin. On the plus side, this makes for a very responsive chassis with nice turn in and balance. These and the typical less the efficient use of room makes mid-engine cars mot very market appealing except for those who are interested in the drive, not just the ride.
It's also why manufactures tend not to offer small, affordable mid-engine cars. I'm hoping that VW's Blue Sport becomes a reality and a source of direction in the current sports car market that is currently dominated by over weight, high power luxury cars with too many electronic gadgets and a facade of being a true sports car (notable exception would be the Lotus Elise/Exige and few others).
Even to this day, the x1/9 remains one of the very few small mid-engine chassis that can be performance up rated to amazing levels with few significant changes to the chassis as delivered. This was a design that was far ahead of it's time and never really allowed to be fully developed by it's creators due to politics.
The X also offered notable storage space for a car so small, let alone a mid-engined car. Bertone went through some trouble to find places to hide the gas tank and the spare tyre into the space between the passengers and the engine, leaving a LARGE and deep front trunk and a good sized rear trunk behind the engine.
Bumping this thread because someone mentioned an X1/9 and we should all remember what they are capable of
In reply to mr2peak :
And now the hot thing is to swap a Honda K engine into them for lid of power.
In reply to BAMF :
We actually wrote about a Honda K-powered Fiat X1/9 back in 2007. Click the link in the preceding sentence to read it.
I drove mine 3400 miles in October. Alway a blast.
Soon after graduating college, I went to look at an X1/9 for sale. I was living in Atlanta and can't remember where the car was located–only that it was at a shop of some kind.
I want to say it was green. Or maybe blue. I remember that it had the 1290cc engine.
Fun car. Looked like a baby Ferrari.
But it was rather slow compared to my Sentra SE-R. Like, really pokey.
Then the second thought: I just graduated from college and live in a studio apartment so what am I thinking about buying a second car?
So it didn't go any further than that.
I miss my X1/9s so much
You'll need to log in to post.
