CT Poll - What's Your Favourite Engine Position: Front, Middle Or Rear?

“Where’s the engine?” she asked inquisitively, turning innocently to her male companion, having just leapt from one of their 911’s racing buckets. “In the back,” he said, after a long pause. “What, in the boot? How does that even work?” she replied, confused, and oblivious to the gaggle of men who’d stopped to snigger at her.

Unforgivable as this faux pas may seem, I think CT can excuse Ms Whateverhernamewas just this once. Why? Well, she was blindingly attractive for a kickoff - but more importantly, Porsche is more or less unique in that it continues to persist with a rear-engined layout.

The shortcomings of rear-engined cars are well-known, and based solidly in the laws of physics. They dictate that with a disproportionate amount of weight slung over the rear axle, a 911 should be about as composed as a TOWIE cast-member on a night out; a skittish front-end, vague steering and a rear-end that wants nothing more than to see you die a slow, painful, embarrassing death. And yet, they’re bloody brilliant. With every iteration of the iconic nameplate, Porsche’s engineers bend the laws of physics by another degree.

Were Porsche to suddenly decide that no, engines don’t belong behind the rear axle, they’d only need move ‘em forward a few inches to make the 911 mid-engined, a la Boxster, Cayman, and countless other sportshypercars. The reason mid-engined layouts are a mainstay of Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Bugatti et al? Balance. Without getting too technical - mounting the engine in the middle of the car means it’s possible to achieve a near-perfect weight distribution. As weight is more equally dispensed between the front and rear wheels, traction and agility are vastly improved over front or rear-engined cars.

The key drawback of mounting the engine between the axles is practicality - i.e. less space for people and things. You need only look at the Lotus Evora's laughable rear-seats to know what I’m on about.

So if you’re a bit dull - and therefore value practicality above all else (pfft…) - you’ll want your engine mounted up front. For years carmakers have been trying to match the poise and balance of mid-engined cars, but retain the practicality afforded by mounting the engine at either extremity. Some success has been had usually by pushing the engine as far back as possible - though still ahead of the car’s occupants - or mounting the gearbox at the very back for improved weight distribution. While a front-engined car will never match a mid-engined car for balance, you could argue it’s the best of both worlds. Besides, front-engined stuff is generally best at slithering about sideways, smoke pouring off the sidewalls if you like that sort of thing...

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