Rear-wheel drive (or RWD for short) is a common engine/transmission layout used in automobiles. RWD typically places the engine in the front of the vehicle, but the front mid-engine, rear mid-engine and rear engine layouts are also used.

Rear-wheel drive is used almost universally for driving motorcycles, whether by driveshaft, chain, or belt.

The vast majority of rear wheel drive vehicles use a longitudinally-mounted engine in the front of the vehicle, driving the rear wheels via a driveshaft linked via a differential between the rear axles. Some FR layout vehicles place the transmission at the rear, though most attach it to the engine at the front.

Rear wheel drive has fallen out of favor in passenger cars since the late 1980s -->. This might be due in part to higher manufacturing costs, and the fact that front wheel drive is safer for a driver of average ability blank">The Family Car: Front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, or all wheel drive? . Also, a front wheel drive car performs better on slippery roads. The Hidden Virtues of Front Wheel Drive However, some automobile brands, including _Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, Tomcar, Porsche, and latest, Hyundai use rear wheel drive platforms. Rear wheel drive (or, alternately, all-wheel drive) is still the preferred choice for high performance automobiles because very powerful front wheel drive cars tend to understeer , and the ability to fit a large engine in a front-wheel drive layout while maintaining good fore and aft weight distribution is limited. The limit of controllable power for a front wheel drive car is generally placed between 230 and 300 horsepower, and no engine larger than a DOHC V8 has ever been fitted to a front wheel drive production car.