Why do they call MidEngine to those which are located in the rear part of the car?

Answer 1

Everyone is close, but technically, a mid engine is located between both axles, front and rear.

Rear engine is like people said - it is behind the rear axle like in an old VW Beetle or in a current day Porsche 911.

Front engine is an engine over or in front of the front axle like an BMW Z4.

Mid engine is anything engine between the wheels, like the Nissan 350Z is a front-mid engine car, and the Porsche cayman is a rear-mid engine car. The front- and rear- indicate where between the wheels the engine is, closer to the front or to the back.

Look at the diagrams of the cars in this pdf: http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/download/Sept_06_data_panel.pdf

Notice the engine location between the BMW and the Porsche? The BMW is front engined - its engine sits over the front wheels. The Porsche is rear-mid engined - its engine is right before the rear wheels, but its still in the "middle" of the car.

Answer 2

They don't. When an engine is in the rear of the vehicle, as in the original VW bug, it's a rear engine.

A mid-engine is when the engine is actually located mid point of the vehicle. Most vans have that configuration, with the engine encased in a "Dog house" within the passenger compartment.

Answer 3

midengine is in front of the rear axle, rear engine is behind the rear axle--there is a difference--specifically in handling and performance--

Answer 4

They don't.
A mid engine car is when the engine is positioned between the cars front and rear axles.
A rear engine car is when the engine is over or behind the rear axle.
Both engines will sit behind the drivers seat.

Answer 5

They don't. Mid-engine is positioned in front of the rear axle. Rear-engine is positoined above or behind the rear axle.