In-wheel motors could deliver performance gas can’t
Integrated design means fewer parts
Is Ferrari planning individual in-wheel motors to help make its electric vehicles handle with the ferocity its gas options offer? A new patent filing dug up by CarBuzz says the company is at least considering it.
The site found Ferrari’s patent filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office. It shows that Ferrari is looking at using in-wheel motors. Where the rotor and stator are built into the wheel’s hub instead of mounted inboard and driving an axle like they do in a conventional gas car (and most EVs).
In Ferrari’s filing, the company said that putting the motors there increases vehicle efficiency and reduces parts complexity as well as increasing cabin space. All important things for a Ferrari. For enthusiasts, Ferrari said that it allows for a better suspension design and “better control of pitching and rolling movements.”
Rather than being simply inside the wheel, this design integrates the motor into the wheel itself. The benefit includes lighter weight and simplicity, but it could also make a pothole a whole lot more expensive.
The automaker has already said it thinks that EVs will be able to get drivers excited, even if it’s not exactly the same as in a gas-powered model. Upgrades like these motors, which allow levels of torque vectoring and power delivery tweaks gas cars can’t, should help go a long way to that goal.
