20 mid-engined classic car marvels

Landmark motors with mid-mounted engines

Mid-engined cars tend to stand out from the crowd, but they don’t have to be supercars to capture attention and imaginations.

Here are some of the most significant mid-engined cars, presented in chronological order.

1. Matra Djet V (1965)

The Djet started life as the work of its designer René Bonnet, but sales were slow and Matra picked up the baton in 1964 to create the Djet V.

Like the original from 1962, the V used a mid-mounted Renault 8 engine, and a Gordini-tuned motor was soon offered to boost performance of the lightweight sports car.

The mid-engined design of the Djet and its excellent power-to-weight ratio led Matra further into motorsport, culminating in entries at Le Mans and Formula One in later years.

2. Lamborghini Miura (1966)

The Miura proved to be a pivotal moment in the history of Lamborghini and the supercar genre.

It gave Ferruccio Lamborghini the snub to Ferrari he wanted and it marked the start of the mid-engined revolution for high-performance cars. Even Ferrari was forced to follow suit when it replaced the Daytona with the 365BB.

Lamborghini’s approach to the mid-engined design of the Miura was unusual because its V12 motor was mounted transversely and above the gearbox. This gave the car superb lines, but it also made the handling less forgiving.

3. Unipower GT (1966)

Easily one of the best Mini-derived cars of the 1960s, the Unipower GT took the humble city car’s engine and gearbox and placed them behind the driver.

It was a readymade solution to creating a mid-engined car that proved very effective in the GT, giving it superb handling and an excellent power-to-weight ratio.

Business dealings were less of a success and the Unipower name had faded by 1970, with fewer than 100 GTs built. A shame, because with a Cooper ‘S’ 1275c engine, the Unipower was good for 120mph.

4. Lotus Europa (1967)

Ever alert to an opportunity, Colin Chapman made great use of the Renault 16’s engine and gearbox to transplant them into the Europa, the first mid-engined Lotus road car.

It resulted in superb handling and strong performance despite the modest 78bhp 1470cc motor – 0-60mph came up in 9.3 secs and top speed was 117mph.

The Twin Cam adopted the Elan’s 105bhp 1558cc motor and gave the Europa an even better turn of speed, taking just 7.7 secs to dash off 0-60mph.

Find a Special from 1972-on and it has the later 126bhp engine that turns the Europa into a mini supercar.

5. Ferrari Dino (1968)

The Dino 206 was the first Ferrari-built mid-engined road car, beating the 365BB to showrooms by some five years.

Like the Miura, the Dino placed its engine transversely across the chassis, giving the 206 and its 246 successor a compact size. With its 178bhp 2.0-litre V6 engine, the 206 was a toe in the water and only around 150 were made.

The follow-up 246 that used a 195bhp 2.4-litre version of the same engine proved a big hit, and 3569 GT and targa-roofed GTS models were made.

6. VW-Porsche 914 (1969)

The only car to officially be sold as a joint Volkswagen and Porsche project, the 914 was also the German team’s first mid-engined road car.

Behind the cockpit lay 1.7-, 1.8- or 2.0-litre flat-four engines with up to 100bhp and 120mph. While some questioned the looks, there was no doubt the handling was more than up to the job, while the removable targa roof panel showed this car was aimed squarely at the US market.

A six-cylinder model called the 914/6 was also offered, but proved a tough sell and only 3360 were made even though it had a ‘proper’ Porsche engine from the 911T.

7. Fiat X1/9 (1972)

It’s a testament to how good the handling was for the mid-engined Fiat X1/9 that the only major criticism of the early 1.3-litre cars with 74bhp is they felt underpowered.

When the sharp-edged sports car gained the more powerful 84bhp 1.5-litre motor, it delivered on its promise. The bigger engine also brought a five-speed gearbox in place of the earlier four-speed unit.

The X1/9 proved a long-lived model for Fiat, and was later wholly built by Bertone from 1982-onwards. More than 140,000 X1/9s were produced, proving there was always demand for an affordable mid-engined sports car.

8. Lancia Monte Carlo (1975)

Lancia’s Monte Carlo was originally codenamed X1/20 and could have ended up as a big sister to the Fiat X1/9.

However, it joined Lancia’s stable in 1975 and used the same engines as the Beta range. For the US, this meant a modest 1.8-litre unit, but European cars received a much stronger 118bhp 2.0-litre motor.

Production of the Monte Carlo had to be paused between 1978 and 1980 to sort a brake problem where the front wheels locked up too easily. This was solved by removing the brake servo that was not needed on a car with much less weight over the front wheels because of its mid-engined layout.

9. Lotus Esprit (1976)

Lotus made a serious step up from the Europa when it introduced its second mid-engined road car, the Esprit.

It looked every inch a rival to Ferrari and Lamborghini models, and the handling of the British car was on a par or better than competitors. However, it took until the 207bhp Turbo model in 1980 for the Esprit to gain the power to match the looks.

A Peter Stevens restyle in 1987 kept the Esprit looking fresh and Lotus replaced the original Citroën transaxle with one from Renault to cope with the increasing power.

Julian Thomson updated the looks again in 1993 and the Esprit lasted until 2001, when it offered true supercar pace thanks to a 345bhp 3.5-litre V8 engine.

10. BMW M1 (1979)

Until the hybrid i8 introduced in 2014, the M1 was the only mid-engined road car BMW had ever produced.

Originally developed for motor racing, delays in development meant the moment had passed before it had a chance to compete. Instead, BMW came up with the ProCar series to support Formula One so it had the opportunity to show the car off on track.

The M1 was unusual in having a straight-six engine mounted midships. The 273bhp motor, which was later used in the M635CSi, necessitated a long rear deck. In the end, only 456 M1s were produced.

11. Pontiac Fiero (1984)

The Pontiac Fiero may have been criticised in period for its dull performance, but it is notable for being the first mass produced mid-engined sports car built in the US.

The clean styling and mid-engined design promised a great deal, but General Motors saddled the Fiero with a lazy 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine that made only 92bhp.

Even when the Fiero gained V6 engines, it was not enough to lift sales or interest in the car, and the Fiero experiment lasted a mere five years. In that time, Pontiac sold around 335,000 Fieros, with sales tailing off drastically in the final two years of production.

12. Toyota MR2 Mk1 (1984)

When it looked like the mainstream sports car was all but dead, Toyota shocked the world with the mid-engined MR2. It even acknowledged the engine layout in its name, which stood for ‘Midship Runabout 2-seater’.

A zingy 1.6-litre twin-cam engine gave lively performance, while the handling was neat and nimble.

A big hit around the world, the first-generation MR2 sold a total of 166,104 units, and the follow-up Mk2 and Mk3 models proved every bit as popular and good to drive.

13. McLaren F1 (1992)

The pinnacle of mid-engined cars? Quite possibly, thanks to the McLaren F1’s 240mph top speed, stunning acceleration and its sonorous, 6.1-litre V12 motor supplied by BMW.

In its no-compromise search to be the purest mid-engined sports car, the F1 even used gold leaf to line the engine bay, because it’s the best material for reflecting heat.

The engine used in the F1 ended up weighing more than designer Gordon Murray originally specified, but BMW offset this by making it more powerful.

14. MGF (1995)

The Mazda MX-5 may have been credited with reigniting the affordable sports car market, but the MGF was a more sophisticated option.

Key to the MG’s design was its mid-engined layout that gave it superb handling, helped by the lightweight K-series engine and Hydragas suspension fitted to the F models. Later TFs swapped this for a more conventional set-up.

Pick of the bunch for the MGF was the VVC model that came with 143bhp courtesy of variable valve timing. If you couldn’t stretch to a Lotus Elise, the MGF was a very worthy second choice.

15. Lotus Elise (1996)

Rarely have the fortunes of a company rested more heavily on a single car, but the mid-engined Lotus Elise was a brilliant return to form for the firm and secured its future.

Using the same Rover K-series engine as the MGF, the Elise mounted it in a bonded aluminium tub that made for an extremely light, strong base.

The result was zesty performance and amazing handling allied to a supple ride.

The Elise gave rise to numerous different versions based around its mid-engined core, including the hardtop Exige and a 350bhp 3.5-litre supercharged V6 model capable of 0-60mph in 3.8 secs and 175mph.

16. Porsche Boxster (1996)

It may have taken Porsche 20 years to offer a follow-up mid-engined model to the 914, but the Boxster was more than worth the wait.

The engine layout dictated it was strictly a two-seater, but this offered buyers a much more affordable way into Porsche ownership and it caught the wave of roadsters coming to the market in the mid-1990s.

Using a mid-engined design made the Boxster very easy to drive for first-timers to the brand. This opened up a huge new market to Porsche and filled its coffers.

The only gripe was the chassis could clearly cope with more power than the original 2.5-litre motor’s 201bhp. Porsche duly obliged with the 250bhp S in 1999.

17. Strathcarron (1999)

Named after Lord Strathcarron, who founded the company, the firm’s SC-5A and 6 models used a strong, light aluminium chassis tub.

In keeping with the lightweight theme, a 1200cc Triumph motorcycle engine was chosen and it conveniently fitted neatly behind the cockpit. With 125bhp powering a 550kg (1213lb) car, performance was vivid.

The quality and dynamic ability of the Strathcarron cars was never in doubt, but changes to the Single Vehicle Approval legislation in the UK stopped it in its tracks. In the end, only around 60 cars were built.

18. Noble M12 (2000)

Lee Noble already had several notable cars to his name when he launched the M12 in 2000. Part of its brilliance was in the everyday simplicity of its mid-mounted Ford V6 engine.

This unit made it simple to slot motor and gearbox straight in to the Noble’s strong chassis, while a brace of turbochargers boosted power to 310bhp in the original model.

Such was Noble’s expertise in making mid-engined cars that handled sublimely, the M12 grew in power and stature all the way to the M400 with a 425bhp engine.

When Noble ceased production in 2007, the rights were bought by Rossion in the US and the car continued as the Q1 until 2018.

19. Renault Clio V6 (2001)

Clearly designed as a nod to the R5 Turbo, the Clio V6 was an equally outrageous machine.

It crammed in a tuned version of the Laguna’s 3.0-litre V6 engine to where you’d normally find the rear seats in a Clio supermini. Much of this work was undertaken by TWR and the result was a car with a justifiable reputation for edgy handling.

Changes to the Clio V6 increased power from 227bhp to 252bhp, but more importantly the Phase 2 models from 2003 had a longer wheelbase, wider front track, and stiffer subframes to significantly improve handling and stability.

20. Smart Roadster (2003)

The Smart Roadster was, and remains, one of the most affordable ways into mid-engined sports car ownership you’ll find.

It’s not quick by any stretch of the imagination, taking 15 secs to get to 60mph from rest if you choose the 61bhp version. The 80bhp model needs only 10.6 secs, but feels brisker thanks to the car’s low-slung stature and the whizzy nature of the three-cylinder turbocharged 698cc motor right behind your spine.

The Roadster came to an end in late 2006. A plan was hatched to revive it as an MG and build the car in the UK, but this came to nothing.