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A Simple History of the Rear Engined Passenger car

Part Five.

The first car bearing the name Subaru the 360, was introduced in 1958. It had a twin cylinder two-stroke engine 0f 360cc located at the rear. Only six hundred and four were produced that year, but the rate of production had reached over twenty two thousand in 1961. This model later with a larger engine was in production for fourteen years.
Subaru 360
The Italian stylist Frua created for Renault the body design for Floride coupe and cabriolet that was introduced in 1959. Based on the mechanical components of the Dauphine, its impact was more visual than technical. Even so it was produced for almost ten years and one hundred and seventeen thousand examples were produced.
Renault Floride
By the end of the nineteen fifties the rear engined small cars were beginning to dominate the Europian market. The inovative front wheel drive BMC Mini had arrived, but it would be another decade before the rear engined car would go into decline.
In 1960 Fiat introduced the "Gardinera", a 499cc station wagon with a similar inline twin cylinder engine as the "500", but with cylinders horizontal. The engine was located under the floor at the rear of the car. With a slight increase in wheelbase and the weight increased to five hundred and seventy kilos, it was newer a four seat car with a luggage area over the engine. In parallel with the Fiat models, the "500", platforms were clothed in prettier bodies by Autobianchi at their Desio factory. Named the Bianchina, a convertible, later a convertible, a four seat saloon, an estate car and a van version on the Gardinera platform were produced. A version of the Nuova 500 was made by Styr-Puch in Austria in 1957, with their own flat-twin air-cooled engine and swing axle drive and suspension. The Styr 650TR of 1965 to 1969, was the hottest 500 model made and a competent rally car.

At the opposite end of the size scale to the small Fiat was the Chevrolet Corvair, one of the few large rear engined cars produced. Introduced in 1960 it was Chevrolet's answer to the European small saloon cars imported into the USA at that time, it was one of a new breed of "Compact" cars being introduced by US manufacturers. Initially weighing in at 2492 lbs it was almost double the weight of the contemporary rear engined Fiat's and Renaults. Fitted with a 2295cc air-cooled flat six engine that produced 80BHP it had double the power of output of the engines fitted to the majority of rear engined cars on the market at that time. As well as being the first rear engined car produced by Chevrolet, the unitary chassis/body unit and the independent springing with wishbones and coil springs at the front and semi-trailing swing-axles and coils at the rear were a first.
1969 Chevrolet Corvaur Monza Sports Coupe
Initially produced as an economy car for the US market but because it was too costly and different for the market it didn't sell as well as planned. Fortunately for Chevrolet the sporting Monza version of the Corvair appealed to American enthusiasts. Higher output engines became available; the highest being a 180BHP optional turbo charged unit for the Corsa model of 1965. The suspension was developed to improve handling and the rear suspension was revised in 1965 using multi links in place of the swing axles.
One and a half million examples were produced over ten years but by US standards it was not considered a successful model.
It is claimed that Joseph Stalin was an early user of rear engined cars, choosing a Tatra T 600 in 1949. But it another ten years before a rear engined car was produced in the USSR. By 1960 a rear-engined car was in production in the Ukraine. The Zaporozhets ZAZ965 was a two-door saloon with a 748cc, later a 887cc air-cooled Vee four engine in a unitary chassis and independent suspension with torsion bars at the front and coil springs at the rear.  It was replaced by the ZAZ966 with a new body form and a 1196cc engine in 1967. A later version the ZAZ968 was produced until 1990.
Zaporozhets ZAZ965

Simca produced their first rear engined car the 1000 in 1961. The chassis design of the 1000 was  similar to the rear engined Fiat of the period and was fitted with heavy engine already in use in the Simca Aronde. It was in production until 1978  with a couple of increases in engine size. One point six million saloons and estate cars were produced.
Simca 1000
The NSU Prinz 4 was revised Prinz with a new body and many other inprovements. Five hundred and seventy thousand were produced between 1961 and 1973.

A Simple History of the Rear Engined Passenger car. links
Greyhounds Part Four,The Nineteen Sixties.
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