It doesn't sound like you've really worked out the arithmetic on towing 4000kg with an EV, whether the frame can handle it or not. On even a slight grade your battery will be toast. Anyway it's clear that many compromises have been made. The payload has been slashed by 400 pounds. The curb weight way over 3 tons will keep you off many marginal roads and bridges.
i wonder how much different the hub motor design is vs what lordstown motors was trying to accomplish. their hub-motor truck performed disastrously offroad at baja, and im not even sure their stock is still trading today.
I note that they demonstrated the "tank turns" on a wet road. That seems like a good idea since on dry asphalt those tyres would be screeching as they're dragged sideways across the tarmac in those turns.
Rivian originally planned to put tank turns on their vehicles but then cancelled those plans. They found that the tank turns were turning up the soil to a destructive amount and did not provide much actual functionality beyond just looking cool.
When will any car manufacturer have the courage to build a utilitarian EV that's not a smartphone on wheels? Never, it seems. Because this would have been the perfect fit for such a design.
14 comments
[ 2.2 ms ] story [ 48.4 ms ] threadThis is not a hub motor design.
At least I'm happy that cargo e-bikes exists.