Why Rear-Wheel Drive Is Pretty Much Dead

Like drifting? Want a car with that perfect 50:50 weight distribution? Promised yourself something rear-drive after years of front-drive hatches? You'd better be seriously quick, because all the evidence is pointing to rear-wheel drive being on its last legs. Forget the death of manual gearboxes - RWD is on its way out first. Here's why.

1. Rear-drive can't get any faster

Cars now are way more powerful than rear-drive can deal with. That's why a 424bhp Audi R8 S-tronic would beast a 616bhp McLaren 12C off the line. A Nissan GT-R will destroy a Koenigsegg or Hennessey Venom with double the power for usable real-world pace. Everyone demands progress, and cars are launching faster, whether you're a customer, marketer, or just a fan of Top Trumps. Even with launch control and dual-clutch, there's only so much you can do to get a RWD missile off the line.

It's why Mercedes is turning to 4MATIC AWD to make the 580bhp E63 and CLS63 AMG manageable, even usable, on the road. And as a result, it'll do 62mph in 3.6sec. Forget BMW M5s - even a Noble M600 wouldn't see which way the Merc went.

2. The last bastions of RWD are throwing in the towel

AMG is going AWD for the A45, CLA45, and next C, E, CLS and S-class. BMW's 'Ultimate Driving Machines' are slowly moving to xDrive, starting with the X5/X6 M, then the M135i, etc...

Even Ferrari has gone for all-wheel drive. Has that hurt the FF? Nope. It's selling scarily well for a machine with Marmite styling and a crackers quarter-million price-tag.

3. 4x4 means easy hybrid sports cars

Want tomorrow's sporty cars to be quicker and more eco-friendly? Simple, add electric gubbins. That's what most car-makers are thinking. Take the new Honda NSX: petrol V6 driving the rear, and adaptive electric motors spinning the fronts. That template can be flipped for AWD hot hatches, new Scoobies and Evos, and even tomorrow's 458-successor.

4. We're the only ones that care

Petrolheads are a noisy minority. Fact is, most folk haven't got a bloody clue which wheels push or pull their car along. As these shameful images remind us.

RWD. Get it while it's hot...