Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout followed by the first De Tomaso, the Vallelunga, which mated a tuned Ford Cortina 1500 Kent engine to a VW transaxle with Hewland gearsets. Introduced at Turin in 1963, 58 were built 1964-68. Finally, in 1966, the Lamborghini Miura was the first high performance mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive roadcar. The concept behind the Miura was that of putting on the road a grand tourer featuring state-of-the-art racing-car technology of the time; hence the Miura was powered by a V12 transversely mounted between the rear wheels, solidal to the gearbox and differential. This represented an extremely innovative sportscar at a time when all
V12 engine Léon Levavasseur, building on experience gained with in-line four-cylinder engines. In 1904, the Putney Motor Works completed a new V12 marine racing engine—the first V12 engine produced for any purpose. Known as the "Craig-Dörwald" engine after Putney's founding partners, the engine mounted pairs of L-head cylinders at a 90 degree included angle on an aluminium crankcase, using the same cylinder pairs that powered the company's standard two-cylinder car. A single camshaft mounted in the central V operated the valves directly. As in many marine engines, the camshaft could be slid longitudinally to engage a second set of cams, giving valve