- Ford hopes to patent a feature that would allow its electric cars to power their front and rear wheels.
- This is possible because high-performance EVs typically have two motors – one at the rear and one at the front.
- Ford said the new technology would help heat up the vehicle’s tires and also provide a “visual display of power”.
As quick as they may be, near-silent electric cars may not cause the same head-turning uproar around town as their raucous gas counterparts do. But they’ll still put on a show by putting on sweet, smoky burnouts—if any new Ford technology bears fruit.
carbs, an automotive website, looked at the automaker’s recent patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office, titled “Electrified Vehicle Performance Mode with Intentional Wheel Spin for Tire Heating.” It’s an engineer’s way of saying the technology will enable electric cars to peel off in an epic cloud of smoke.
So what? Gas-powered muscle cars and sports cars can already cause burnouts by locking their front wheels and smashing the gas to spin the rears. What’s special about Ford’s technology is that it will let electric vehicle owners spin the rear wheels And fronts in quick succession.
This is possible since sporty EVs, like Ford’s own Mustang Mach-E, typically have one motor driving the rear axle and the other up front. According to the filing, the “heat tires” function will let owners lock the front wheels and spin the rear tires for a few seconds, then vice versa. The stated purpose is to heat up the vehicle’s tires for better grip on the racetrack, but as Ford has acknowledged, it should also look just plain cool.
The “peelout and associated heating or smoking of the tires” will improve traction and provide a visual display of power, Ford said in the filing.
The new mode could come on the future high-performance version of the Mustang Mach-E SUV, which has been featured in the diagrams as part of the filing. Or it could go in a different vehicle entirely.
This wouldn’t be the first time Ford has introduced the showboat feature in a new vehicle. The new (non-electric) Mustang lets owners rev their engine remotely using the key fob.
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