In-wheel motors could change the way cars are designed

In-wheel motors have the potential to change the design and performance of vehicles, and developers are already working on further developing the technology to improve and possibly redesign the modern vehicle. CNET reports that in-wheel motors designed by Ferdinand Porsche made their first appearance at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris, but not much has been done with the technology until recently.

"If you take the motor out of the traditional location in the vehicle architecture and put it out in the wheels, you get that space that the engine used to occupy," Mark West, the chairman of the Transportation Design Department at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, told the news source. "So it opens up opportunities to rearrange the package of the vehicle."

The use of such motors is not unheard of in hybrid and electric vehicles, but it could also be used with gasoline-engines to improve performance and fuel economy. However, one of the main problems with the technology is the weight. The added equipment in the wheels will require redesigned suspensions and could change the overall dynamics of a vehicle.

Drivers can use car warranties to keep their vehicles running smoothly until this technology becomes widely available.