US Patent 8256561 Vehicle

In one aspect, the vehicle is a relatively small-sized utility vehicle and includes front and rear wheels on the right and left sides of a body of the vehicle. A seat is located substantially midway between the front and rear wheels. At least part of a power unit is disposed in the space under the seat. The power unit includes an engine having a crank shaft and a transmission to which power is input from the output portion of the engine through a first power train. The crank shaft includes a rotational mass, and at least a portion of the transmission is located in the space below a swept area of the rotational mass.