We have measured the rates of the reaction of dimethyl 4-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-2,3-thiophenedicarboxylate with DMAD at 100° both in 1-butanol and in toluene and we found that the reaction in the polar solvent is only about twenty times faster than that in the apolar solvent. Eberbach and Carré 4 also reported no difference in the rate of reaction of a dihydroazepine with DMAD in solvents of different polarity although in acetonitrile the rearranged [2+2]-cycloadduct is formed ...