Porsche is testing a bold configuration for a future electric SUV. The German brand works on a model with no less than four electric motors, one per wheel. For now, the specs are still a secret, but it says it will have an innovative torque control system developed by Porsche Engineering.
Engineers had to create software that could keep all four engines synchronized and able to respond to changing conditions. If the two scenarios do not mix, the software intervenes by braking or accelerating the wheels individually, thus eliminating understeer and oversteer, helping to keep the vehicle on the desired path. Porsche says it all happens “very subtly and quickly,” and the driver doesn’t even realize it.
“In an electric vehicle, the torque is purely electronically controlled, which works considerably faster than mechanical clutches. Every millisecond, intelligent software distributes the forces in such a way that the vehicle always behaves neutrally”, Porsche says about the software.
The Rivian R1T is already coming to the market with all-wheel-drive technology.