Imagine playing a game of pool and only holding the cue with one hand. How many balls to do you think you would pot? Wouldnt it make more sense to use one hand to steer the cue while the other provides the force to hit the cue ball, rather than asking one hand to do both jobs?
Precision is all about balance and its the same with high-performance cars. If you have two perfectly good axles on a car, why would you ask just one to manage the steering, a majority of the braking and the job of getting power down to the road?
In small, lightweight models such as two-door coupes it makes more sense to assign the role of steering and braking to the front wheels, while allowing the rear wheels to look after the power.
The result is a front axle that provides better steering feedback, and responsiveness and optimum traction from the tail end. If you dont need the grip of all-wheel drive for venturing away from the beaten track or have a car that will mostly be driven when the sun is shining, rear-wheel drive cars offer the most involving handling and rewarding manners for the driving enthusiast.
There are also advantages for weight distribution too. Front-engine, front wheel drive vehicles position all the heaviest components of the car at the front end, which makes the Holy Grail of 50:50 front-to-rear balance much harder to achieve. Place the differential and half-shafts at the back, the gearbox in the middle and the engine at the front however, and you end up with beautifully balanced rear-wheel drive cars.
And its been that way for decades. Thats why the Subaru BRZ follows in the tyre tracks of classic rear-drive coupes offering driving thrills that are largely unrivalled by any other car in its class.
Molly Taylor
Subaru Ambassador
08 April 2021
