Front-wheel drive (or FF layout) is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles.
According to various sources, sometime between 1895 and 1898 Gräf & Stift built a voiturette with a one-cylind...
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Front-wheel drive (or FF layout) is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles.
According to various sources, sometime between 1895 and 1898 Gräf & Stift built a voiturette with a one-cylinder De Dion-Bouton engine fitted in the front of the vehicle, powering the front axle. It was thus arguably the world's first front-wheel drive automobile, but it never saw mass production, with only one copy ever made.
Experiments with front-wheel drive cars date to the early days of the automobile. Following the Spanish-American War, J. Walter Christie of the USA was working on designs for a front-wheel drive car, which he promoted and demonstrated by racing at various speedways in the U.S., and even competed in the Vanderbilt Cup and the...
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