Donut Lab, a subsidiary of Finland-based Verge Motorcycles, claims to have a motorcycle very high energy density of any such unit in the world.
At CES 2025, Donut Lab announced that it has achieved this with donut-shaped motors designed to be integrated with car wheels and tires. This adds bulk, which can make adjusting the ride and handling difficult, but Donut says this is offset by the lighter weight of his motors.
The company plans to provide a family of five motors of different designsincluding a 21-inch-diameter automotive version that produces 844 hp and 3,171 pound-feet. However, it weighs 88 pounds—it's still a lot. At the same weight, the Donut Lab also has a 21-inch engine designed for small trucks that produces 268 hp and 2,212 lb-ft.
Donut Lab electric motors
Down in size, the 17-inch motorcycle weighs 46 pounds and produces 201 hp and 885 lb-ft. There's also a 12-inch, 17-pound scooter engine rated at 20 hp and 221 lb-ft. Donut Lab has a 4.7-inch motor designed for drones that produces 4 hp and 14 lb-ft.
By squeezing more power into a smaller package, Donut Lab believes that it can reduce the cost of producing electric cars by using small things. To make that easier, it offers these motors as a complete part platform that includes battery packs, control units, and software-though it's not yet confirmed how these engines stack up in terms of performance.
In-wheel motors are new. Porsche recently reminded us that it's been working on them for a long time—over a century, in fact. Even Ferrari has considered in-wheel motors.
Donut Lab electric motors
But efforts to sell in-wheel motors have been mixed. They are currently used at least in the Chinese market, but manufacturers Lightyear and Lordstown Motors stopped short of putting them into production vehicles for the US market. That leaves Aptera, which initially saw in-wheel motors as a good performance electric 3-wheeler.
When it comes to standard motors, Lucid has the lightest EV to manufacture, at about 68 pounds each. That automaker's core propulsion technology is set to be used in future Aston Martin EVs.