Thursday Twister: The World Is Flat
Welcome to another edition of the Thursday Twister — a free-for-all quiz where we ask the question and you guys give the answers. Today’s subject is flat engine powered cars…they are engines that use horizontally-opposed pistons and are sometimes called boxer engines (if each piston has its own crankpin), but regardless – let’s collect the whole set.
My submission is the ubiquitous Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle — no other car has contributed so much to the global hatred of flat engines as the Beetle, but the flat engine helps keep the weight low and tucked under the rear of the passenger compartment.
What other cars use (or used) a flat engine? Comments below.
Subaru!
We need to be more specific, e.g. Subaru BRAT!
BTW Vince, thanks for posting the embarassing pic of my dirty mismatched Beetle engine bay. It may look like crap, but it runs smooth as (old) silk.
The '48 Tucker and its converted Franklin helicopter motor.
We're not talking racers like the Pooch 917, and we're not talking laid-over inlines like the Toyota Previa, right?
A laid-over inline "X" is just half of a flat "2X" in my opinion…
Alfasud.
[img] i.imgur.com/LVAwBIn.jpg?1[/img]
The engine of which eventually evolved to this:
[img] home.planet.nl/~koper193/boxer16v.jpg[/img]
Panhard 24
[img] images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2F citroenet.org.uk%2Fpanhard-et-levassor%2Fimages%2Fpanhard24b1.jpg&f=1[/img]
Citroen 2CV.
Porsche 356
Or if that's too similar to the VW, then the Ferrari Testarossa
Scion (Toyota) FR-S
This comment has been removed by the author.
Corvair
Tucker got mentioned before Corvair ??
I had typed Corvair, then I'd erased it and typed 2CV, then I erased that and typed Tucker…
Jowett Jupiter and Javelin.
Ferrari BB512
This one. Definitely a flat engine. Uncertain it will start.
[img] static2.stuff.co.nz/1340234399/432/7145432.jpg[/img]
Ran when parked (the owner, that is)
Ran when parked (the owner, that is)
Citroen GS/GSA
Borgward had flats that Subaru bought for their early cars.
It was the Arabella Sub started using them in 68.
link to a Hansa example
cosmopolitanmotors.com/listing/hansa-1100-kombi-wagon/
Lancia Flavia
[img] bestcarmag.com/sites/default/files/496765565-Lancia-Flavia-DV-12-Ci-001.jpg[/img]
Apologies for image size. It looked smaller.
The grand daddy of them all, the Tatra flat 8. One of the coolest cars ever. Imagine an air cooled 6 liter V12 in 1931.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_(company)
My bad…the 8 was a V also. Just love the air cooled 3 liter V8 alloy.
Then that engine was updated and used in the Lancia Gamma.
[img] ourclassiccars.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/lancia-gamma-04.jpg[/img]
Citroen Dyane.
Yeah, too easy, but don't have time to think right now.
Heh.
The Benz Patent Motorwagen.
[img] upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/1885Benz.jpg[/img]
Next someone's gonna post a picture of a horse laying on his side and kicking.
But I think you win the topic.
The rest of us unworthies will have to settle for the Pooch 911 no one's bothered to mention yet.
Horse on its side needs to be a badge!!
Deutsch-Bonnet
and
BRM H-16
Steyr Puch 50/55, Puch 500/650TR
MAN out of Germany makes diesel pancake motor's for Trucks and Busses.
Tomos Streetmate
According to Google, a Tomos Streetmate is a single cylinder motorcycle…