SIM-HAL Is A Sporty Electric Car With Tons Of Torque

The SIM-HAL electric car may share a name with 2001’s AI bad guy, but the only thing villainous about SIM-Drive’s latest EV is the insane torque it makes. With a combined 1,829 ft-lbs of torque sent to the streets and a design straight out of the pages of science-fiction, the SIM-HAL could be a look at how electric cars of the future are built.

I say that because the SIM-HAL uses four electric motors, one on each wheel, to deliver power and control to the drive. The HAL in SIM-HAL stands for “High-efficiency All-wheel Link”, which combines the four 87-horsepower electric motors into a single functional unit, sending power where it is needed, when it is needed. Each motor also delivers over 460 ft-lbs of peak torque, and combined output for the system is about 349 horsepower and the aforementioned 1,829 ft-lbs of torque.

That translates to a 4.7 second 0 to 60 MPH sprint, though top speed is limited to just 111 MPH. But the real story here isn’t acceleration or top speed, but rath efficiency. Using a 35.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, SIM-Drive claims the HAL can go as far as 251 miles per charge. This is, however, on the generous Japanese testing cycle, which rates the Nissan Leaf’s 24 kWh battery pack at 141 miles per charge. While Nissan is almost certainly going to offer a larger battery pack to customers at a high price, SIM-Drive has instead pursued efficiency, and the results are paying off.

To me, sticking an electric motor on each wheel makes the most sense, delivering variable all-wheel drive system without the need for power-sucking transmissions or driveshafts. The SIM-HAL gets this much right, though it still looks like a comic supervillain’s getaway car. At least it’s an improvement over previous SIM-EV designs…

Source: SIM-Drive | Autoblog Green