Just yesterday, Faraday Future released a mysterious teaser video of its first model, claiming to have somehow reinvented the wheel. Now, thanks to the emergence have an interesting patent, we have an idea of what FF may be talking about.
Uncovered by The Truth About Cars, the company patented a piece of tech in April designed to improve acceleration for electric vehicles.
This patent outlines that an inverter could be implemented into the vehicle alongside a torque capability controller to make acceleration even brisker. Of more interest is that among the figures shown in the patent, one depicts an electric motor connected to a shaft sending power to the wheels which themselves are fitted with individual motors.
The patent says that the “motor may be built into a wheel such that the wheel may rotate co-axially with a rotor of the motor.”
This could be why FF seems so proud of its newly-developed wheels and why they’ve been camouflaged on recent prototypes.
If the company’s initial production model does have in-wheel electric motors, it could offer earth-shattering levels of grip and acceleration to rival that of range-topping Tesla models.
Also discovered within the patent are mentions that Faraday Future is developing a selection of driving modes for the crossover, including ones baring similarities to Tesla’s ‘Ludicrous Mode’. In fact, the patent describes possible names, including ‘Turbo Mode’, ‘Thrilling Mode’ and ‘Exhilarating Mode’.