Mid-engined cars are un-deniably sexy for the simple reason that they are predominant;y two-seater sports cars. The merits of mid-engine design might be debated. Handling and balance are excellent but access to the engine for repairs can be difficult. What cannot be debated is that some of the most desirable and expensive cars in the world are mid-engined and the exclusive nature of these cars makes them special. Not surprisingly, the Italians were the first to produce mid-engine cars and have built more than any other country. Italians understand passion for the automobile and it is this passion that best describes the appeal of the middies.

Perhaps a definition of mid-engine is in order. It simply means the motor sits between the driver and the rear wheels. There have been a few front, mid-engine cars like the Citroen SM where the motor sits between the driver and the front wheels but this is a difficult design chore. Most cars either have the majority of the motor's weight in front of the front wheels (front engine) or in back of the rear wheels (rear-engine) like the Porsche 911 or Corvair. While every major automotive producing country has offered mid-engine cars, the United States has produced very few. The most US middie was the short-lived Pontiac Fiero. The Germans have also avoided the mid-engine layout with only the BMW M1 and Porsche 914 and 914-6. The Japanese and French have offered a few more middies and the British are second only to the Italians in mid-engine production.

The mid-engine layout is most useful in racing where utility or comfort are of little importance. Perhaps the lack of Americans interested in racing venues where the mid-engine is king (Formula 1, GT racing and rallying, explain why the US has avoided the mid-engine car. The 'good 'ol boys' of NASCAR have never dreamed of letting anything but big-block, front-engine bruisers on their ovals. Sure, Indy cars have been mid-engine since the 1960's but the major manufacturers have never endorsed Indy racing the way they do NASCAR.

The golden age of middies was the decade of the 1970's. Almost every automaker had mid-engine designs in planning or production. A mid-engine Corvette came very close to production in this period. These mid-engine efforts did not succeed due to low volumes inherent in sports car production. Toyota's MR2 and Fiat's X1-9 tried to bring the middie to the masses but with limited success. Like no other manufacturer, Ferrari has become the dominant mid-engine producer. During the 1970's and 80's, Ferrari dropped all their front-engine cars, only to bring them back in the 90's with the 456 and 550 Maranello.

Toy car makers of 1:64 scale, have done almost every mid-engine car ever produced. Included in this survey are middies that actually appeared on the streets in numbers of at least 100. This rules out the Ford GT40 but allows the Ford R5 200 and Peugeot and Renault turbo hot hatches. I have selected my favorite example of each mid-engine car in the collection. I hope you enjoy the tour.

	GERMANY 1980 BMW M1 Matchbox (World Class)		GERMANY 1970 Porsche 914-6 Siku #V312
GREAT BRITAIN 1995 MGF 1.8i Matchbox #66		GREAT BRITAIN 1990 Jaguar XJ220 Matchbox (Premier)
	GREAT BRITAIN 1968 Lotus Europa Matchbox #5		GREAT BRITAIN 1985 Lotus Esprit S2 Johnny Lightning #657
GREAT BRITAIN 1985 Ford R5 200 Matchbox		FRANCE 1982 Matra-Simca Bagheera, Majorette #219
	FRANCE 1986 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Matchbox		FRANCE 1985 Renault R5 Turbo Majorette #255
UNITED STATES 1983 Pontiac Fiero GT Road Champs		JAPAN 1990 Honda (Acura) NSX Majorette #220
	JAPAN 1984 Toyota MR2 (SV3) Tomica #24		JAPAN 1989 Toyota MR2 Hot Wheels #
		NORTHERN IRELAND 1980 DeLorean DM12 Zee Toy #P374
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