VIDEO: PML F-150 w/in-wheel motors test driven
Click for a gallery of the Hi-Pa F-150
Want to see the PML F-150 Hi-Pa cruising down the street? This all-electric truck that puts out a combined total of 600 hp and 2,000 lb-ft of torque from its four in-wheel motors made its debut at SEMA last week and, on top of the test drive video, we've got an on-the-floor introduction to the truck YouTube goodie after the jump. PML worked with DST Industries and Ford to take out the V8 powertrain and put in the motors and a 40 kWh lithium ion battery pack. While the first video just shows the truck on the road without any narration, the second is a full-on interview with
PML's Peter (no last name given) and shows off the new instrument cluster, the wheel motors and all the rest. Thanks for the tip, Paul!
Gallery: PML Hi-Pa F-150
[Source: YouTube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Richard 10:13PM (11/11/2008)
Another company that can do it, but Ford can't? Hmmmmm
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jake 6:20PM (11/11/2008)
All of the inwheel motor (basically all of them are made by PML) driving videos have been disappointing without exception. None of them show strong acceleration and they all just show the car moving at basically a slow constant speed.
It doesn't match the claimed horsepower & torque numbers, which leads me to believe that they are probably quoting absolute peak power (basically a point where the motor can't sustain that level for more a few seconds).
However even so, I expect them to at least be able to show strong acceleration if even for a few seconds, but they don't.
Hopefully some independent testing can be done on cars with these motors to see how they perform when you floor it.
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paulwesterberg 6:41PM (11/11/2008)
With 150hp at each wheel the motors should be able to smoke the tires off.
My guess is that the battery pack or the power management system cannot dump enough power fast enough to fully power all four motors to maximum load. This may be by design so the battery doesn't overheat and can be used for more cycles.
Brn 6:58PM (11/11/2008)
Agreed. Give me something to believe in.
Peter 7:09PM (11/11/2008)
I wonder what kind of batteries they've got. 600hp from a 40kWh battery works out to an 11C discharge. There are cells capable of that, but not many.
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gorr 8:53PM (11/11/2008)
They have a nice powerful electric trucks but the battery is the problem like big auto manufacturers said many time in the last 30 years.
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Nick 9:03PM (11/11/2008)
A 7hp motor in a NEV is about 15" in diameter. A 150hp electric motor would be much larger !
I don't believe the PML numbers at all.
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rob 9:26PM (11/11/2008)
Very few of the NEV's use an AC induction motor because the power electronics required are quite a bit more complex (and expensive).
Tesla's motor is about the size of a large watermelon.
The motors (there are two) in the Killacycle are something like 8" in diameter...
So it's certainly possible.
As for the batteries, if they ran parallel strings they could cut the individual cell discharge rate to something even the cheap Chinese LiFePO4's can handle.
I would love to see this thing being "driven" though, rather than just cruising along. Hook a trailer to it, put another F150 on the trailer. Show us a dead start up a steep hill...
Nick 12:16AM (11/12/2008)
Rob, thanks for the info.
I would also like to see more 'performance' videos of it. I'd like to see it on the drag race strip competing against another truck.
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chris 4:18AM (11/12/2008)
I JUST saw the most boring test drive ever recorded on video!!!!!YAY more like a test coast.
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captainpease 11:56AM (12/31/2008)
If they can get in-wheels to perform well, I think this is one of the best, if not THE best, electric automotive option to help us transition to batteries.
My prediction:
As more electric and electric hybrids are released and purchased as NEW and/or USED vehicles, the value of our current USED combustible cars will begin to diminish at an exponential rate.
This is where in-wheel motors come in. Instead of trashing our devalued combustibles or selling them for next to nothing, let's convert them to electric. Let's pull out our engines and transmissions and replace them with batteries. Let's remove our alloy wheels and replace them with in-wheel motors. More benefit, less waste.
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Constantin 10:48AM (3/04/2009)
Good I would love to drive that ! Why Frod is still lobing for OIL COMPANIES ! EV is the future !!!
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pfcvans 7:20AM (11/16/2009)
Wheel motors show the most promise for becoming the standard in electric vehicle drive systems. They eliminate all of the resistance generating, energy consuming components such as transmissions and differentials. I would like to see PML offer their wheel motors for sale to the public so others could build EVs using this technology and help refine it.
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