In-wheel motors are actually a much-discussed subject for efficiency electrical automobiles, however Ferdinand Porsche, the founding father of the Porsche engineering firm and father to Ferry Porsche, the founding father of the Porsche sports activities automobile model, labored on them over 100 years in the past.
On the flip of the twentieth century, electrical automobiles gave inner combustion a run for its cash, and Ferdinand Porsche was experimenting with each applied sciences. On Apr. 14, 1900, an EV that the 24-year-old Porsche helped develop was unveiled on the Paris World’s Honest—and notably that includes in-wheel hub motors.
Having beforehand designed an electrical automobile in 1898, Porsche designed motors to be built-in with the entrance wheel hubs of a car constructed by the Austrian agency Jacob Lohner & Co. in a interval of solely 10 weeks. The electrical motors every generated 2.4 hp, which received the car, known as a Lohner-Porsche, as much as a high velocity of 19.8 mph. The Lohner Porsche additionally featured four-wheel braking—a rarity on the time.
Working with Ludwig Lohner, Porsche continued growth of hub motors, creating three sizes with outputs as much as 11.8 hp. Supposed to be used in vans and buses in addition to passenger automobiles, these motors had been powered by lead-acid batteries that offered a claimed 31 miles of vary.
Lohner-Porsche Semper Vivus hybrid
Porsche additionally designed an all-wheel-drive electrical race automobile named La Toujours Contente (French for “the one who’s at all times glad”), with one 13.8-hp motor powering every wheel. However the engineer’s in-wheel motors noticed probably the most use in a hybrid.
The Lohner-Porsche Semper Vivus (Latin for “at all times alive”) mixed hub motors with a gasoline engine to increase vary and tackle lack of charging infrastructure (two issues EV drivers of at the moment are nonetheless acquainted with). Porsche claims that about 300 automobiles utilizing this powertrain had been constructed, together with 40 for the Viennese fireplace division, in addition to some taxis.
In-wheel motors are actually discovering their method into fashionable automobiles—steadily. In 2023, Chinese language automaker Dongfeng claimed to have the primary production-ready passenger automobile with in-wheel motors, and previous to that they’d been slated to be used within the Lightyear 0 and Lordstown Endurance pickup that did not fairly make it to full-scale manufacturing, in addition to the NEVS Emily GT prototype.
Ferrari has additionally patented an in-wheel motor design, whereas Lexus in 2019 mentioned it will pursue in-wheel motors for future EVs. A newer patent submitting from guardian Toyota seems to again that up.
