> The first inexpensive production midengine car was the
>Lotus Europa (introduced when, Phil?)
>1966 or 1967. I get fuzzy when I have no books handy. There certainly were
>cars sold in France for the 1967 model year. Maybe in 1966, too.
The first series production mid-engine sports car was the Rene Bonnet and
Matra-Bonnet Djets. They went into production in 1962 thru 1967. I have
no idea how they might have compared price-wise with the Europa. They also
use the classic longitudinal layout like the Europa. They used 4 wheel
disc brakes, double wishbone suspension front and rear, and a very pretty
fiberglass body. It was a pretty advanced car for its time, yet you
never hear about them, or see them mentioned in books because they are
*French*. Nobody appears to take French cars seriously after WWII.
Mine is a standard 1967 Djet V. It uses a stock 1108cc Renault R8 engine
producing 70hp. Maybe I'll have it on the road before summer...
>I don't recall any other "inexpensive" car with the classic race-car
>longitudinal layout EVER being sold in the USA. The Pantera, at $10K, was
>rather expensive in it's day.
Other than the above mentioned Djet, there is the VW-Porsche 914, which uses
the same layout. I think it's price was on par with the Europa. Matra
also had the M530 of 1968-1972, which used the Ford V4 in a longitudinal
layout. This one probably doesn't count, since few were imported.
steve "It's completely lodged inside you now"
- thinkin fellers union local #282
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