Elaphe In Wheel Motors Power BMW X6 Test Vehicle

Ever noticed how once you hear of something new, suddenly you hear about it everywhere you go? Just a few days ago, we did a story about the Michelin Vision 3D printed wheel. One person commented that it would be ideal if it had an electric motor embedded into it. Yesterday, we got an e-mail from Luka Ambrozic, an engineer who is also a spokesperson for Elaphe Motors, a Slovenian company that is doing pioneering work with in wheel motors.

Elaphe Distributed Propulsion System

The are several important features about what Elaphe calls is distributed propulsion system. First, the in wheel motors are compatible with standard disc brakes and require no modifications to the axle hubs or bearings.  That’s a huge advantage. Second, they offer true all wheel drive capability. Thanks to sophisticated electronics, each wheel can get precisely the amount of power and torque it needs and no more.

With all due respect to Elon Musk and his battalions of outstanding engineers, a Tesla with dual motors has four wheel drive, not all wheel drive. That’s a small but important distinction. Four separate electric motors allow for torque vectoring, a snazzy new buzz phrase that means each wheel can operate independently from the other three.

More Power, More Torque

Elaphe has fitted a BMW X6 with what it calls its electric in wheel motors and tested it against a conventionally powered X6. The car equipped with in wheel motors was faster than the original — both forward and backward! Watch the video for proof of its prowess. The dramatic music makes it highly entertaining.

Ambrozic says, “We completely transformed the car. We took out everything that had to do with the inefficiencies of the internal combustion engine and central architecture and replaced it with electrical components, plus added a battery.

“But what makes this car special is the way the vehicle is driven. It uses 4 high torque direct drive electric motors, mounted completely inside the rims, built around a standard disc brake and bearing. It’s just incredible what innovative in-wheel technology can do.” The European Union has given Elaphe Motors a €1 million grant to develop the technology and find industrial partners.

New Automotive Design Possibilities

The possibilities for the automobile industry created by in wheel motors are enormous. Putting the power of a car in the wheels themselves opens up many new and innovative packaging solutions for people and cargo. Even though cars will always need a significant crash structure out ahead of the passenger compartment (at least until self driving technology eliminates collisions), eliminating bulky electric motors will open up many new design solutions.

Better Handling, Too

One thing we don’t know is how adding the mass of the in wheel motors affects the ride and handling characteristics of a vehicle. But the company offers this hint: “With an improved center of gravity and exceptional weight distribution, this large SUV (the BMW X6) is able to reach 1.08 lateral g’s of acceleration during cornering, putting it alongside the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Porsche 911 GT3 RS and McLaren 650 S Spider.”

That certainly sounds promising. We would be happy to send a Gas2 representative (I am available, btw) on a trip to Slovenia to find out first hand what driving the electrified X6 is like and report on our findings.

In Wheel Motors Coming From Protean Partnership With VIE

The last time we did a story about Protean in wheel motors was four years ago. Back then, the headline said production would begin in 2014. Not much has been heard from Protean since then but now comes word that it has formed a partnership with  Zhejiang VIE Science & Technology Company (VIE) and will to develop its ProteanDrive 16″ in wheel motor for use in a broad range of automotive and light truck applications.

What’s so great about in wheel motors? For one thing, they eliminate all the transmissions, driveshafts, axles, differentials, and cluthes that have been part of conventional cars with internal combustion engine cars for a century. Getting rid of all that hardware leaves lots more room inside the structure of an automobile for passengers and the stuff they carry around with them. It also means designers can devise new crash structure architecture that does a better job of protecting people in the event of a collisiion.

The bad news is that the ProteanDRIVE 16 adds 60 pounds of unsprung weight to the corner of a car. Unsprung weight is the enemy of handling. Every time the car hits a bump, a pot hole, or a speed bump, all that weight has to get started in one direction and then move in the opposite direction as soon as the spring it is attached to reaches the limit of its travel.

It is Newton’s First Law of Motion — a body at rest tends to remain at rest until an outside force is applied to it. Add in the weight of the tire, the wheel, and brakes and the total weight of the components at any corner of a car fitted with an in wheel motor could exceed 100 pounds. That’s a lot of mass to get moving every time a bump in the road comes along. Such a thing would have been impossible a few years ago, but today’s computer controlled active suspensions might be able to cope with the stress an in wheel motor will place on the suspension components.

Each ProteanDRIVE 16 in wheel motor has nearly 600 ft-lb of peak torque and 54 peak horsepower according to Green Car Congress. The wheel/motor combination is intended to meet the needs of all plug-in hybrid and electric cars. The torque is more than ample. The power seems a little low unless four in wheel motors are planned. The motor is designed to fit inside a standard 16″ wheel. Here’s hoping it won’t be another 4 years before we hear from Protean again. Be sure to check out the video below for more information.