An existing rear floor panel In a vehicle rear body includes left and right side frames,, whose longitudinal direction is aligned with the vehicle front-rear direction, and a cross member, which connects these side frames to each other.
In addition, rear quarter pillars stand erect on rear side panels situated to the rear of respective rear door openings (rear seat openings) (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 5683707). Rear wheel houses, which accommodate respective rear tires, are disposed under the rear quarter pillars.
The rear quarter pillars are disposed along the extension line of the cross member. In order to integrate the pillars and the cross member, upper stiffeners are disposed so as to extend across the respective rear wheel houses, so that the cross member and the rear quarter pillars are connected to each other.
A damper attachment portion is integrally disposed on each of the rear wheel houses so as to protrude from the rear wheel house at a position a predetermined distance away toward the vehicle rear from the position at which the corresponding upper stiffener is disposed.
In the existing vehicle rear structure having such a configuration, the load imposed on the damper attachment portions from the wheels is dispersed while being transmitted to the pillar inners of the rear quarter pillars through the rear wheel houses and the upper stiffeners.
Disadvantageously, however, a vehicle that has damper attachment portions shaped so as to protrude from the upper surfaces of the rear wheel houses and spaced apart from the rear quarter pillars is insufficient for transmitting the load imposed on the damper attachment portions to the rear quarter pillars to disperse the load.