Ferdinand Porsche devised the first car with an electric motor in each wheel. Today a Chinese manufacturer is going to make it possible

Just a few days ago we were talking about Dongfeng at the Santana plant, since it will be the Dongfeng Z9, brought in pieces from China, that will end up being assembled in Linares to end up traveling Spanish roads under another name: the Santana 400. However, the brand also has a presence in Spain with the boxan urban vehicle that we have known since the end of last year. Dongfeng in China is another world, as the brand has much more impressive and innovative vehicles. One of them is the eπ 007, which has led the brand to become the first established manufacturer in the world to bring a sedan with four motors integrated into the wheels into mass production. The electric motor that is attached to each wheel What’s special about it. In-wheel motors eliminate traditional components such as the differential, drive shaft and semi-transmissions. The eπ 007 is equipped with four independent units of 100 kW each, manufactured by Shanghai Automobile Electric Drive, which add up to a combined power of 400 kW (536 HP). This architecture promises to reduce mechanical losses approximately 30% and the firm claims that it allows individual control of each wheel with torque responses in milliseconds. The advantages. According to official documentation, the system provides improvements such as a 10% to 15% smaller turning radius, 25% higher energy regeneration efficiency thanks to better braking control on all four wheels, and 20% to 30% lower maintenance costs. In addition, by eliminating the transmission tunnel, the cabin gains interior space with a completely flat floor and greater flexibility in locating the batteries. It’s not the first attempt. Although other manufacturers have attempted to market vehicles with in-wheel motors, such as the Lightyear 0 or the Lordstown Endurance, all came from startups that later went bankrupt. Dongfeng is one of China’s leading state-backed car companies, making the eπ 007 the only model to enter mass production with this technology. The vehicle will be the litmus test to find out if the invention, first devised by Ferdinand Porsche in 1900, it may end up having a commercial place, beyond concepts. The good thing is that the miniaturization of electronics over the last few decades has allowed manufacturers to opt for ideas as revolutionary and as old as including an electric motor in each wheel of the car. In the past, the problem with this system was the excess weight it brought to the vehicle. Today, Dongfeng wants to demonstrate that this idea can become viable. It remains to be seen if it will be so attractive that the general public will bet on it. More traditional versions. At the same time, Dongfeng also recently launched the updated eπ 007+, with three finishes that combine 100% electric and extended autonomy. The price started at about 139,900 yuan (about 16,788 euros). The pure electric variant is offered with a 200 kW rear motor and 650 km of CLTC range, or with a 400 kW dual motor and 565 km. Both use lithium-ferrophosphate batteries. The version with range extender combines a 1.5-liter generator with a 160 kW rear electric motor, achieving 308 km in electric mode and up to 1,308 km in total. In Xataka | Porsche owners in Russia woke up this morning without being able to start their car. And they have a suspicion

This motorcycle looks like a vespa, the motor roars like a tractor and the change is of a snow motorcycle. It’s Russian, of course

One of the most fascinating subcultures is that of ‘Dieselpunk‘. It is a Retrofuturist vision of the period between the First and Second World War which has the combustion engine at the center of all its technology. Films like ‘Sky Captain and the world of tomorrow‘They recreate aesthetics perfectly. In video games, we could talk about ‘Wolfenstein The New Order‘. And, in real life, there are those who have determined to create a Dieselpunk scooter that sounds like a tractor and shoots the Vespa design, but With Soviet influences. And its creator is Russian, of course. Dieselpunk Scooter. The creation of homemade vehicles is an art. On the one hand, we have the so -called ‘restomods’. These are projects that allow a classic car on the outside, but with current mechanics and electronics. One of the most used cars in these ‘mixtures’ is the Tesla Model 3which allows to give life to models such as This beautiful Mercedes-Benz 300sl. On the other hand, we have those who pull inventive to create something new. Russia is prolific in this work, this being Lada Vaz-2110 with a V16 engine based on chainsaws An example. But also the ‘scooter dieselpunk’ that crowns this article and that is Work of the Saint Peter’s Builds Workshop. They are enthusiasts who modify vehicles in artisanal projects and upload their work to networks. One of them was this Honda Super Cubbut with the Dieselpunk they promise to overcome. Soviet engine. The motor of the motorcycle is a 1,200 cc V4 diesel engine taken from a Zaz 968. This was a compact car that intended to become The “town car”, like Volkswagenbut in the Soviet Union. The engine was located in the back, getting a peculiar distribution of weights and, with a power of 50 hp, is chosen for dieselpunk. The original box was four marches, but to facilitate things on the motorcycle, from Saint Peter’s Builds they have decided to go further with Frankenstein’s monster: a CVT system (or continuous variable transmission change) that uses a pulley system instead of gear and that have taken out of a snow motorcycle. To connect the change to the engine, they have used combinations of axles and chains. The most incredible thing is that, after some failed tests, the engine is already snoring. Well, “snore” for saying something, since it sounds like a tractor: Vespa retrofuturista. The engine is the most complicated piece of this vehicle, but although it is an achievement that works as they want, there is a long way forward. In the video we can see the design, which is half Vespa of the rear to the handlebar, half tractor throughout the front. The engine appears on the sides, with the cylinders appearing as a couple on the sides and an artisanal escape. It is that elongated nose, the engine cylinders acting as fins and, above all, the decorative lines throughout the side what gives the motorcycle that Retrofuturist airas just taken from ‘Fallout‘. Anxious for the future. At the moment, as its creators claim, the first steps have already taken themselves and we will have to be attentive to see how they model the outside, on which chassis they mount everything and, above all, if one day they will end up finishing the project to delight us with another video in which we see them take a walk. What seems obvious is that this front of the engine and, above all, the nose, will imply a complex mass distribution that will affect both stability and the passage through curve. But well, the last thing to wait is to see this on the road on a day -to -day basis. Although who knows, it is Russia … In Xataka | The Chinese brands promised them very happy plagiarizing the design of the Vespa. They ran into a problem: it’s “art”

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