THK EV prototype teases in-wheel motors, electrical brakes, four-wheel steering

• Japan’s THK unveiled the LSR-05 EV prototype on the 2024 Paris auto present
• Prototype options in-wheel motors and wi-fi charging system
• The designer was former Nissan design chief Shiro Nakamura

A Japanese firm specializing in parts that make the most of linear movement with rolling contact introduced an electrical car prototype showcasing a few of its newest developments at this week’s 2024 Paris auto present.

The corporate is THK, and its LSR-05 prototype makes use of in-house know-how in every part from the electrical powertrain to the charging system to the suspension and even the seats.

The LSR-05 was first proven as an idea on the 2023 Tokyo auto present, however the model on show in Paris is a extra superior prototype that includes elements that will find yourself in manufacturing.

Highlights embody seats that require a a lot smaller set up place on the car flooring in comparison with typical seats, but nonetheless ship loads of maneuverability because of what TKH describes as a particular actuator. This protects inside area, permitting for improved packaging.

The prototype additionally makes use of in-wheel electrical motors developed by THK. There may be one for every of the rear wheels, rated at 125 hp every, which work along with a traditional electrical motor driving the entrance axle, rated at 295 hp. The in-wheel motors, which additionally work along with a rear-wheel-steering system, function a variable magnetic flux system that makes use of a extremely inflexible ball screw developed by THK. The configuration is just like what Dongfeng has put in in its Fengshen E70, billed by the Chinese language automaker because the world’s first passenger car with in-wheel motors.

Different applied sciences embody an lively suspension system with magnetic dampers, a brake-by-wire system, and a contactless charging system. The charging system depends on an influence transmitter embedded within the floor, and an influence receiver put in within the car. Decreasing the peak of the car utilizing the suspension system improves charging effectivity, enabling the ability receiver to be made smaller and lighter, in response to THK.

Chargeable for the design of the LSR-05 was SN DESIGN PLATFORM, a Tokyo-based design firm headed by former Nissan design chief Shiro Nakamura. Nissan followers will acknowledge Nakamura because the designer of the unique Leaf EV, in addition to the present GT-R sports activities automobile. He additionally designed or oversaw the design of a number of extra Nissan and Infiniti fashions whereas he headed the inventive groups at each manufacturers from 1999-2017.

The LSR-05 is not the one EV designed by Nakamura and his workforce at SN DESIGN PLATFORM in current occasions. He solely final yr introduced the EV Sport 01, an electrical sports activities automobile idea constructed to showcase electrical motors developed by Japanese know-how firm AIM. Whereas AIM stated it deliberate to construct a enterprise case to get the EV Sport 01 into manufacturing, the same assertion hasn’t been made by THK for its LSR-05, although THK stated in an announcement that it’s engaged on a extra superior EV prototype, which is able to by referred to as the LSR-07.