A new electric vehicle platform that could underpin its next generation of battery-powered models, including high-performance vehicles capable of accelerating from 0-100km/h in under four seconds.
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The Japanese manufacturer has unveiled an experimental electric vehicle featuring a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system producing more than 380kW of power, which is significantly more than any of its current electric models.
The prototype in question features a 150kW electric motor at the front and a more powerful 230kW unit at the rear, giving it a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system. The electric motors themselves are have been developed with Aisin, and are claimed to deliver efficiency improvements of around 30 per cent. The platform itself weighs around 100kg less than the current Subaru EVs and a newly-developed battery pack could bring further weight savings.
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We don’t yet know the size of the battery, but it’s been developed in partnership with Panasonic Energy and it uses approximately 4000 cylindrical cells. The battery is claimed to be 25 per cent lighter than the current Subaru EV batteries, with energy density around 20 per cent higher than the industry average.
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Toyota didn’t. I’ll admit that they’ve been too cautious on adoption of Li-ion batteries and EVs, but they remain the leader in hybrid tech.
Hell, the current hybrids are almost EVs in spirit with the 20-30 mile all-electric range of the first leg. That might as well be 80% of your driving, even more if you live in a city with a large amount of car chargers at your destinations.