Why the engine so far forward?

AutomobileFilter: I was looking at a few cars in the office parking lot and I couldn't help wondering -- why are Audis and Subarus designed with the engine so far forward? I've heard that both these brands of cars generally have the engine placed in front of the front wheels. Is there a technical reason for this, or does it come down to legacy engineering?
posted to Ask Metafilter by clevershark at 1:06 PM on November 7, 2006 (11 comments)