# Was the 1959 Mini the first traditional FWD car? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-1959-mini-the-first-traditional-fwd-car/592864 "2011-08-16T03:04:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![automagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a698b9/32.png) [@automagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/automagic)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-1959-mini-the-first-traditional-fwd-car/592864/1 "2011-08-16T03:04:51Z")
What was the first car that had front wheel drive as it is normally found today with the engine transversely mounted and the transmission either in front, behind or to the side of it? Wiki seems to think its the 1959 Mini > **[Front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout |](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front-engine,_front-wheel_drive_layout#Mid-engine_.2F_Front-wheel_drive)** > > The earliest front wheel drive cars were mid-engine, front-wheel-drive layout (MF). The engine was mounted longitudinally (fore-and-aft, or north–south) behind the wheels, with the transmission ahead of the engine and differential at the very front of the car. With the engine so far back, the weight distribution of such cars as the Cord L-29 was not ideal; the driven wheels did not carry a large enough proportion of weight for good traction and handling. The 1934 Citroën Traction Avant solved th... On the note of FWD does anyone remember which Saab had the engine longitudinally mounted backwards. What I mean by backwards is that the clutch and flywheel were in the front by the bumper and the timing and accessory belt by the fire wall and I cant remember where the transmission was. Weirdest layout I have ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-1959-mini-the-first-traditional-fwd-car/592864/2 "2011-08-16T03:27:50Z")
> [@](#): > > On the note of FWD does anyone remember which Saab had the engine longitudinally mounted backwards. What I mean by backwards is that the clutch and flywheel were in the front by the bumper and the timing and accessory belt by the fire wall and I cant remember where the transmission was. Weirdest layout I have ever seen. The [99](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_99) and first generation 900. Later 900s had a transverse mount. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-1959-mini-the-first-traditional-fwd-car/592864/3 "2011-08-16T03:52:26Z")
I googled [this](http://www.bmwblog.com/2010/04/06/editorial-a-brief-history-of-front-wheel-drive/)article. It has the FWD transverse engine developed in the 1920’s before being abandoned