Ford reveals Fiesta eWheelDrive

Ford’s European arm and German auto component manufacturer Schaeffler have pulled the covers off a Fiesta powered by an electric motor in each rear wheel.

The pair claim the eWheelDrive project is the first step in their investigation into in-wheel motors as a key element in making city-cars smaller, more space efficient and more manoeuvrable – via the ability to move sideways to park.

In-wheel drive systems pack what amounts to an entire independent drivetrain into each wheel hub – motor, braking and cooling systems.

With each wheel integrating all the components it needs for drive, deceleration and driver assistance, the technology opens up all manner of possibilities in fuel and space efficiency and performance.

It’s been found highly effective for torque vectoring – the constant real-time redistribution of torque between the wheels for the benefit of high-speed handling.

For Ford and Schaeffler, the eWheelDrive project is foremost about urban space efficiency.

The use of in-wheel motors makes redundant the space under the bonnet normally reserved for combustion engines, electric motors and transmissions.

Ford and Schaeffler say this bears the potential for cars that are both smaller and safer, opening the way for the development of a four-seat car with the footprint of today’s two-seater.

Space vacated by drive systems can be eliminated or given over in part to extra secondary safety measures.

It also allows for development of steering systems that allow vehicles to move in and out of parking spots sideways -- an important means of making the most of parking areas as the world urbanises.

According to the World Health Organisation, by 2050 the number of people living in cities globally will have increased from 3.4 billion to 6.4 billion, and the number of cars worldwide will have increased four-fold.

“[It] 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,” said Peter Gutzmer, Schaeffler’s Chief Technical Officer.

The Fiesta eWheelDrive is part of a series of projects Ford is entering into with Schaeffler and others.

The next will see the two working with German components giant Continental and two German universities, RWTH Aachen and the University of Applied Sciences in Regensburg, on a project dubbed MEHREN (Multimotor Electric Vehicle with Highest Room and Energy Efficiency).

The group says MEHREN will result in two new driveable vehicles by 2015.

The aim, they say, is to “increase the integration of in-wheel motors in a car and look at vehicle dynamics control, braking, stability and the fun-to-drive factor”.

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site…