This is the Big Change the EVs will facilitate; this tech will change the shape of the automobile

[Lux Interior]

mrbigstuff wrote:
Radical for radical's sake, perhaps, but it's breaking new ground.

As vaporware.

[CJsNvrUrly]

We have a deposit on an Aptera.
Aptera

[mrbigstuff]

ztirffritz wrote:
Hub motors create an unsprung weight issue that will wreck any chance of having a moderately good handling vehicle. Lordstown motors is trying to use them in an electric utility pickup truck, the Endurance. I doubt it will be a performance vehicle, but it does create some unique opportunities that come with the drawbacks. The suspension can be articulated in ways not previously possible. It won't win any beauty contests, but it's not a terrible looking truck.



Aptera, pictured in a post above, is also planning to use hub motors. Again, probably won't be a high-performance vehicle as it's a 3-wheeled vehicle, so the hub motor might not be an issue for them.

This article is 9 years old, but shows that designers and engineers have been working on this for some time, and indeed, it's nothing new in the RC world, for example. The takeaway from this exercise:

The drive has a total weight of 53kg, so there is a weight increase compared to a conventional wheel with a wheel bearing and brake of 45kg, and it outweighs its Alpha-generation predecessor, which still featured power electronics installed in the vehicle, by an additional six kilograms.

“Overall, we were able to reduce the vehicle weight once again”, explains Dr. Raphael Fischer, director of the wheel hub drives product group in Schaeffler’s eMobility systems division. “This is because, in addition to the liquid cooling, the power electronics and controller can now be integrated into the wheel, which means that the complex wiring in the vehicle can be omitted."

“This highly integrated wheel-hub drive makes it possible to rethink the city car without restrictions; and could be a key factor in new vehicle concepts and automobile platforms in the future,” says Schaeffler’s chief technology officer, Professor Peter Gutzmer. “For electric vehicles used in urban environments, which may become obligatory in many densely populated areas, the wheel hub drive makes previously unheard-of space savings possible.

“In these new vehicle concepts, all components that are relevant for propulsion, braking, and driving safety are housed inside the wheel,” adds Professor Gutzmer. “The vehicle platform therefore provides maximum space for passengers, luggage, and for the battery, electronics, and communication systems. And vehicle manufacturers can use this as a basis for a range of different body designs. Automobile manufacture originally started in just the same way.”

https://www.dpaonthenet.net/article/5888...otors.aspx

[Speedy]

CJsNvrUrly wrote:
We have a deposit on an Aptera.
Aptera

Cool. Let us know how it goes.

[davester]

ztirffritz wrote:
Hub motors create an unsprung weight issue that will wreck any chance of having a moderately good handling vehicle. Lordstown motors is trying to use them in an electric utility pickup truck, the Endurance. I doubt it will be a performance vehicle, but it does create some unique opportunities that come with the drawbacks. The suspension can be articulated in ways not previously possible. It won't win any beauty contests, but it's not a terrible looking truck.



Aptera, pictured in a post above, is also planning to use hub motors. Again, probably won't be a high-performance vehicle as it's a 3-wheeled vehicle, so the hub motor might not be an issue for them.

I don't believe that is an Aptera. This is an Aptera, which is actually a three-wheeled enclosed motorcycle, not a car. This is how they get around all the safety requirements that cars have to meet.