Porsche made a name for itself with internal combustion sports cars, but in the early 20th century Ferdinand Porsche, whose son Ferry would later start the sports car brand, electric motors installed-includes in-wheel hub motors.
The first electric car boom occurred in the early 20th century, before internal combustion established itself as the dominant technology. And on April 4, 1900, the EV that the then 24-year-old Porsche helped develop was unveiled at the Paris World's Fair.
Being previously a a fully electric car in 1898Porsche designed the electric motors to be integrated with the car's front hubs by the Austrian firm of Jason Lohner & Co. in just 10 weeks. Each engine produced 2.4 hp, which made the car, known as the Lohner-Porsche, up to 19.8 mph. Besides engines, another notable Lohner-Porsche innovation was four-wheel braking—a rarity at the time.
Working with Ludwig Lohner, Porsche continued to develop hub motorscreating three sizes with outputs up to 11.8 hp for use in trucks and buses as well as passenger cars. These engines were intended for use with lead-acid batteries—common at the time—which provided a claimed range of up to 31 miles.
Lohner-Porsche Semper Vivus hybrid
Porsche also built a all wheel drive electric racing car called La Toujours Contente (French for “the one who is always happy”), with a single 13.8-hp engine powering each wheel. But the developer's hub motors saw more use in hybrids—starting with the Lohner-Porsche Semper Vivus (Latin for “always alive”), which combined front hub motors with a gasoline engine.
Lohner and Porsche ended up using the same hybrid design in about 300 production vehicles, including 40 for the Viennese fire department, as well as various taxis and private passenger vehicles.
After more than a hundred yearsin-wheel motors still attract interest, although adoption of production vehicles is slow. Chinese automaker Dongfeng said it would be the first to use them in a fully-named passenger car due in 2023, although they were intended for the Lightyear 0 and Lordstown Endurance before production of both vehicles was halted.
Aptera is also incorporating hub motors into what it says will be a high-performance 3-wheeler, and patent filings from Ferrari, Hyundai, and Toyota show it's still being researched by established automakers.