First mid-engine road car in History was the René-Bonnet Djet

In 1908 Seers had a twin cyl mid engine car you could buy mail order. You had to assemble it and i believe the shipping crate was part of the car.

I think your hair splitting.

I would say the car was invented as a mid engine vehicle and later evolved into a predominantly front engine car.

Well I just like to add this Italian Bernardi 1884-1898 to the mix. I am quite found of the name.

Sincerly
Giuseppe "Joe" Bernardi

Getting back to the original thread... Here is a 1964 Rene Bonnet Djet at the Bicester Heritage show in 2018...

If you follow this link, there are a bunch of other cool cars that attended....

Car Scene International - Bicester, 2018

The 1970 Abarth actually looks a little "Pantera-esque" (from the front)!

Rocky

Great pictures, thank you for the link...This René-Bonnet is very nice. A Djet raced at Sebring as early as in 1963 (Howard Hanna)

If you look at the other picture, you can note the difference in the design of the rear part compared to the Djet built by "Matra-Sports" once René-Bonnet had to sell them the Company (my own car here).

Zonda -

Very cool car you have there.

I couldn’t help noticing that your car seems to have steel wheels and hubcaps? It’s difficult than the other two rxamples I have seen.

Can you tell us more about your car specifically? It’s very nice!

Thanks -

Rocky

Rocky,

Yes, the Djet originally had these steel wheels with chrome hubcaps and butterfly knock-offs.
It took me some time to find this non-modified example. Most Djets have been heavily modified : fenders, wheels, engines, gearboxes, etc.
This is because the first Djet was a race car, and then the road- versions were often raced.
Only 355 (Gordini 1100 cc-powered) Djet VS were ever built. Probably less than 80 still exist today, of which a handful in complete original condition.
Mine has its original engine, gearbox (and colour scheme). It was sympathetically restored about 15 years ago, and lovingly taken care of. It was the only replacemend I could find to my Lotus Europe Series 1 (same league, same mid-engine conception, but less power).

In the early 60s, a car capable of 190 km/h (120 mph) was an exception (an Alfa-Romeo Giulietta Sprint reached 160-170 km/h). Lightweight and a very aerodynamic design, driving the Djet is a sheer delight especially in curves, thanks to its chassis and suspension design. More pictures below.

Bodywork is made of fibre-glass.

Radiator, fuel tank and spare wheel in the front boot, no space for luggage here.

Race-derived engine with hemispheric combustion chambers, designed by Amedeo Gordini, former Grand Prix and Formula 1 constructor in the 50s. Around 95 BHP (the Djet weights only 600 kg). Soundtrack is very inspiring.

Very nice - thanks for taking the time to post up the description and photos!

Rocky