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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The most compelling rear-engine cars aren’t all sports cars: the layout produced everything from compact city cars to a streamlined luxury sedan. This editorial selection ranks 15 notable examples by their engineering, historical importance, practicality and character—not by a road test or a claim that rear-engine cars are universally better.
Here, “rear-engine” means the engine sits behind the passenger compartment, generally behind the rear axle. That excludes mid-engine cars such as the Alpine A110, Toyota MR2 and Fiat X1/9, whose engines sit between the axles. The Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911 are excluded by name, but distinct models related to their engineering traditions can still qualify.
15 notable rear-engine cars, ranked
| Rank | Car | What makes it notable |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porsche 356 | Turned the rear-engine formula into a lightweight sports-car template. |
| 2 | Chevrolet Corvair | A technically ambitious American compact with an air-cooled rear flat-six. |
| 3 | Tatra 603 | A large, streamlined luxury sedan with a rear-mounted air-cooled V8. |
| 4 | BMW 700 | A small rear-engine BMW offered in several body styles, including sporty versions. |
| 5 | Hillman Imp | An advanced small British car with an aluminum, overhead-cam engine and independent suspension. |
| 6 | NSU Prinz | A compact rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive example of NSU’s early small-car engineering. |
| 7 | Škoda 1000 MB | A family sedan combining rear-engine drive with lightweight construction and independent suspension. |
| 8 | Volkswagen Type 3 | A distinct, more practical rear-engine Volkswagen offered in several body styles. |
| 9 | Fiat 600 Multipla | A versatile six-seat people carrier built around rear-engine packaging. |
| 10 | Fiat 850 | A varied model family with rear-engine drive and sedan, coupe and spider forms. |
| 11 | Fiat 126 | A long-running rear-engine city car that carried the Fiat 500 concept forward. |
| 12 | Renault 4CV | A foundational postwar French small car designed around a rear engine. |
| 13 | Renault Dauphine | A larger, more comfortable rear-engine Renault that reached international markets. |
| 14 | Third-generation Renault Twingo, including Twingo GT | A modern city-car revival of the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. |
| 15 | smart fortwo | A compact urban car whose rear-engine concept supported its short exterior length. |
1. Porsche 356: the sports-car template
The Porsche 356 adapted the rear-engine idea associated with the Volkswagen Type 1 into a lightweight sports car. Production 356s used an air-cooled, rear-mounted flat-four and rear-wheel drive. Its importance is partly that it established a sports-car formula Porsche would later develop further with the 911.
2. Chevrolet Corvair: an American alternative
General Motors gave the Corvair an air-cooled, rear-mounted horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine, a transaxle and independent suspension. The result was a genuinely different American compact, with a six-cylinder powertrain and a layout that shaped the car’s packaging. GM heritage material documents its rear-engine architecture and development.
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3. Tatra 603: rear-engine luxury
The Tatra 603 shows that rear-engine design was not limited to small economy cars. It was a streamlined luxury sedan with an air-cooled V8 mounted behind the rear wheels, extending Tatra’s distinctive tradition of large rear-engine cars. Its unusual combination of size, luxury and layout makes it one of the most striking entries on this list.
4. BMW 700: a small car with sporting versions
The BMW 700 used a rear-mounted, air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine and came as a sedan, coupe and convertible. Compact and light, it connected BMW’s small-car era to a more sporting identity. BMW’s historical material reports total production of 188,121 cars.
5. Hillman Imp: an ambitious Mini alternative
The Imp paired a rear-mounted, all-aluminum overhead-cam four-cylinder engine derived from a Coventry Climax design with independent suspension at both ends. The National Motor Museum notes that its layout and suspension helped its handling despite the rear weight bias. Production ran from 1963 to 1976, with about 440,000 built, according to the museum.
6. NSU Prinz: compact German engineering
The NSU Prinz 4 is a small, rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive car and a useful example of NSU’s compact-car work before the company became especially associated with rotary-engine technology. Lane Motor Museum identifies the Prinz 4’s drivetrain configuration. This entry is specifically about the Prinz, not every NSU model.
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7. Škoda 1000 MB: a technically advanced family car
The 1000 MB combined a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout with a self-supporting body, independent suspension and aluminum engine and gearbox castings. Škoda’s history describes it as a major engineering change and notes its intended appeal in demanding export markets. It brought unusually sophisticated construction to a family sedan.
8. Volkswagen Type 3: a more practical Volkswagen
The Type 3 kept an air-cooled rear engine but expanded the idea into a distinct model line. Volkswagen’s archive describes sedan, fastback and Variant estate versions, with two luggage compartments. It was a more versatile choice for buyers who wanted rear-engine Volkswagen packaging in a broader range of body styles than the Beetle offered. Volkswagen reports that more than 2.6 million Type 3 cars were produced.
9. Fiat 600 Multipla: a people carrier pioneer
The 600 Multipla used the Fiat 600’s rear-engine mechanical layout while extending the passenger compartment forward. Its three-row seating and flexible load space made it a practical six-seat vehicle; Stellantis Heritage also documents its use as a taxi. It was produced from 1956 to 1967, according to Stellantis Heritage.
10. Fiat 850: one layout, several body styles
The Fiat 850 used a longitudinal rear-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive. Fiat describes its “all behind” architecture as a defining feature. The 850 range included sedan, coupe and spider body styles, making it a versatile expression of Fiat’s small rear-engine formula.
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11. Fiat 126: the long-running city-car successor
The Fiat 126 carried forward the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive concept in a more modern body, with improved space and a 600-cc two-cylinder engine. Stellantis reports production of more than 4.6 million and a production run that continued until 2000. It was a durable evolution of the small-car formula, not the final rear-engine car ever made.
12. Renault 4CV: postwar packaging ingenuity
The 4CV was a small rear-engine Renault designed for practical transport in postwar France. Its compact drivetrain helped make the most of a small car’s available space. Renault Group’s historical material documents the 4CV’s place in the company’s postwar story and its connection to the Renault mechanical lineage.
13. Renault Dauphine: a larger rear-engine Renault
Introduced in 1955, the Dauphine extended Renault’s rear-engine approach into a roomier, more comfortable small sedan. Renault describes it as a rear-engine car that followed the 4CV and shared important mechanical family connections. Its international reach showed that the layout could serve a mainstream compact car, not just a basic runabout.
14. Third-generation Renault Twingo: a modern revival
The third-generation Twingo revived rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive packaging in a modern city car. Renault’s Twingo GT material describes the engine’s position between the rear wheels and notes the handling challenge presented by rear-wheel drive. The short nose and compact dimensions support the car’s urban purpose. This is not the original 1993 Twingo, which was front-engined and front-wheel drive.
15. smart fortwo: compactness as the central idea
The smart fortwo used rear-engine packaging to support its unusually short body and two-seat urban mission. Mercedes-Benz describes later smart models as using a rear-engine concept. That description should not be generalized to every vehicle carrying the smart name: here, the relevant example is the fortwo and its city-car design.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why these cars used rear engines
Putting the engine at the back can free up space at the front and avoid a long driveshaft in a rear-wheel-drive car. It can also put more static weight over the driven rear wheels, a useful trait for compact cars with modest power. Those benefits came with tradeoffs: packaging and cooling needed careful attention, and a rear-heavy car’s handling depended on its suspension design and how it was driven.
The cars on this list used the layout for different reasons. The 356 made it part of a sports-car identity; the Corvair and Tatra 603 applied it to very different kinds of full-size or compact cars; the Multipla used it to create a versatile passenger cabin; and the Twingo and fortwo revisited it for city-car packaging.
FAQ
What counts as a rear-engine car?
In this article, it means a car with its engine behind the passenger compartment, generally behind the rear axle. A mid-engine car places the engine between the axles, so it does not meet this definition.
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They are mid-engine cars, not rear-engine cars under the definition used here. Their engines sit between the axles rather than behind the rear axle.
Why include the Porsche 356 when the 911 is excluded?
The title excludes the 911 by name, not every Porsche. The 356 is a distinct earlier model that helped establish Porsche’s rear-engine sports-car formula before the 911 existed.
Is every rear-engine car difficult to drive?
No single description fits every model. Handling depends on the specific car’s design and condition. The layout creates different engineering and driving considerations, but the dossier does not provide road tests or first-hand driving evidence to rank how particular cars feel.
Which rear-engine cars were designed mainly for practicality?
Several were. The Fiat 600 Multipla prioritized passenger and load space, while cars such as the Renault 4CV, Fiat 126 and smart fortwo used rear-engine packaging in compact cars aimed at everyday transport.
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