AWD Electric Wheel Turns Honda Civic Type R into 450 HP Monster

So as you may have heard through the year, a company has developed an electric wheel. It's not an axle or a motor, but a weirdly awesome floating wheel like something out of a sci-fi movie.

We honestly thought it was too far-fetched, so we didn't talk about it, but the hybridized Civic Type R came to the SEMA show, and there's even a little clip of the powertrain in action. The combo makes 450 horsepower and accelerates with sportscar-spanking potential.

You know, the Honda Civic Type R is an awesome car on its own, and we're not put off by the fact that you can see through the rear wheels like that when each of them adds another 50 to 70 horsepower.

Orbis, the company who makes this prototype, claims the wheels are not heavier than standard units, using a small motor to directly drive the rim of the wheel in tandem with a bespoke two-speed gearbox. This has the role of magnifying the effective torque delivery and reminds of the 2-speed gearbox for the front axle of the Ferrari FF.

There's also a new kind of brake disk, which is thin and spread out over the exterior of the wheel, as you see on some bicycles. The piston they use a smaller caliper and a much lighter disk while also decreasing heat buildup.

Clever stuff, theoretically with no unsprung weight penalty, although batteries are still going to have to be added when transforming any car from 2WD to 4WD. But it also adds torque vectoring and needs no suspension alterations, at least for this application. We can't imagine the rear axle of something like a VW Jetta can push the car.