of the motor industry one of its pioneers, Ferdinand Porsche, caused a sensation at the Paris World Fair in 1900 with a vehicle driven by a pair of electric motors incorporated into its front wheels. This arrangement allowed the Lohner-Porsche to dispense with cumbersome belts, chains and gears. It was thus able to nip along at a heady 35kph for up to 50km after its lead-acid batteries had been charged up.
Porsche, like other carmakers of the time, eventually turned to the internal-combustion engine for greater range and flexibility. His eponymous firm went on to build some of the fastest sports cars around. But despite the fact that electric vehicles are now returning to the road with a vengeance, the idea of using “in-wheel” motors of the sort Porsche pioneered has failed to follow suit.
Reduced vehicle weight means also that the propulsive motors do not need to be as powerful as those of conventional electric cars—especially as the task of propulsion is divided four ways between them. Nor are any gears involved, for the motors turn only as fast as the vehicle’s wheels, which is a relatively low speed for an electric motor and further reduces its need to be powerful. That translates to a low voltage because the power of such a motor is a product of voltage and current .
All this frees up space elsewhere in the vehicle, allowing an electric car to be designed from scratch to be more efficient and therefore cheaper to run. Other benefits also come from lightness. A smaller battery can be topped up more effectively by the regenerative braking built into the module, as well as being faster to recharge when plugged into the mains. Indigo has tried the1 out on prototype cars redesigned to be more aerodynamic.
Indigo is talking to carmakers and components firms and hopes, by the end of the year, to land its first production contract. Dr Hemond expects particular interest from firms developing ride-sharing and autonomous vehicles. The sort of small, sleek vehicles or personal-mobility pods which such in-wheel drive systems might inspire would be a world away from the perambulatory Lohner-Porsche. But they would have made Porsche himself wonder what might have been had he stuck with the electric motor.
Really interesting article. Renewable sources of energy are on the rise! Thank you for sharing
generating energy from spinning axles and brake application would produce a never ending supply of power - charging source.
Audi oto galerilerim be amerika
Adding unsprung weight (ie. weight to wheels and axles) causes reductions in handling and ride quality, so this is a tradeoff. When the motors are light enough and reliable enough to ride in hot/wet/dusty environments, it may be practical.
Nah. Delivery services will suffer along with taxis. One size shoe doesn't fit all
You could also put hamsters in the wheels.
How long have patents for different designs of electric motors been held by the car companies ? Why wait until a climateemergency to use them - surely this confirms liability for the climate crisis. ? Greenwave
Alternative transportation can't exist without breaking the regulations that keep people or companies from modifying requirements or making their own vehicle as long as it pass pollution laws, more hemp and bio fules - 1 man electric vehicles should be exempt from regulations
I think you mean “motor”?
It’s not an engine, headline writer. Engine and motor are not synonymous (motor is colloquially used to mean engine, but never vice versa).
Oh how we've come full circle. The first engine was electric and now we've gone back to electric.
wow what a concept that's sick
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