One direction cars of the future are going towards is modularity. Sure, everybody talks about platforms nowadays, but we still have a long way to go before the you’ll be able to jump to the garage, and turn your pickup into a coupe, by lifting off the body and putting on a different one. The chassis could be adjustable in wheelbase and track, and therefore different handling characteristics could be obtained.
However, before we get there, we must first advance the technology for in-wheel electric motors. Without them, all of the above would be considerably more complicated. Thankfully, work is being done, and this rear-wheel drive Ford Fiesta, which was modified by Schaeffler, in Germany, is among the most advanced of its kind.
Now, despite the fact that it isn’t an official Ford project, the German company says that the Fiesta E-Wheel Drive was “designed in close cooperation with Ford Research & Advanced Engineering Europe.” The Blue Oval offered support with the cold weather testing done in Scandinavia, and they say that its handling has “remained at virtually the same level, despite the higher wheel-sprung masses compared to the conventional basic vehicle.”
When working in tandem, the two motors produce a total of 90 hp and a lot of torque. Each of the hub motors is liquid cooled and weighs 53 kg (117 pounds), while also being designed to fit inside a 16-inch rim, for use in small cars like the Fiesta. Schaeffler says that what they throw out on each corner amounts to 45 kg (99 pounds), so the weight increase is not as significant as one may have suspected at first.
It is an impressive project, and the fact that it allows for such easy creation of rear-wheel drive vehicles (or all-wheel drive if you want to keep the petrol engine, as well). More compact versions of these motors would make sense for a sports car, so that it is all-wheel driven only when it needs to, or a hybrid, or both, without having to carry around all the extra associated bulk. Furthermore, these motors inherently have instant response, and they also allow for precise wheel control.
By Andrei Nedelea
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