Patent ID: 7568546

Claim:
A vehicle, comprising: a longitudinally mounted front engine having a power output; a load floor that runs from approximately a front of said vehicle to a rear of said vehicle; a suspension supporting said load floor on rear wheels; a differential unit that drives said wheels and that is driven by said output; a single segment drive shaft that transfers drive torque between said output and said differential; first and second axles oppositely extending from said differential; first and second constant velocity universal joints each connected at an outer end of one of the first and second axles; and first and second step up power transfer devices each connected to one of said constant velocity universal joints driven by said differential and operating to drive each of said wheels, said first and second step up power transfer devices each including multiple gears, said gears including: a first gear rotated by one of the first and second constant velocity universal joints defining a power transfer device input; and a second gear laterally offset with respect to said first gear and rotatably driven by said first gear, said second gear smaller than said first gear and operably connected to rotate one of said wheels, said second gear elevated above said first gear defining a power transfer device output to said wheels elevated with respect to said power transfer device input.