The title of this article is: “A New World of EV Performance? Testing Elaphe’s Hub-Motor Prototype on Ice in a Hyundai Ioniq 5.”
Testing the latest in electric vehicle innovation on a frozen lake is the perfect way to reveal the true potential of any new technology. When that technology involves in-wheel hub motors, the stakes get even higher. I recently had the opportunity to experience this cutting-edge system firsthand, put through its paces on the ice in a modified Hyundai Ioniq 5. The results? They could very well reshape the future of EV performance and packaging as we know it.
A 500-horsepower, front-engined, rear-drive American pony car on ice without tire studs sounds like a recipe for disaster. It’s a setup that typically demands an almost saintly level of self-restraint and driving finesse. But I’m here to tell you, on a frozen Swedish lake in early March, behind the wheel of this particular machine, I wasn’t having to be nearly so careful. My right foot was flat to the floor, I was drifting effortlessly around a massive skidpad, and I was having an absolute blast.
The reason for this unexpected joy? I was getting some serious help from the front axle, specifically from some advanced stability control systems. Up front, where you’d normally just find big brakes, suspension components, and steering arms, this coupe had something extra entirely: a pair of motors. Bolted right on over those brakes and just managing to squeeze inside the wheels, these motors added power, yes, but more importantly, they added an incredible amount of capability to a car that would otherwise be best left safely in the garage in these conditions.
Straight From Slovenia
These innovative motors come courtesy of a small Slovenian company called Elaphe. Though they’ve been in operation since 2006, they’ve largely flown under the radar, working on some rather secretive projects with various manufacturers. Their mission? To preach the virtues of in-wheel hub motors on scales far grander than the scooters and e-bikes where they are most commonly found.
Elaphe’s most significant claim to fame to date was their partnership with Lordstown, a collaboration that looked poised to finally bring the company’s motors to the masses. However, that dream faltered with Lordstown’s bankruptcy, leaving Elaphe to showcase what its technology can do on a variety of other vehicles.
Enter a modified Hyundai Ioniq 5. In its N form, the Ioniq 5 is already quite a capable and engaging car. But in its base, non-evolved configuration, it’s a much more humble machine. This is especially true when faced with icy conditions. I had the chance to start my testing with a base Ioniq 5 on a professionally plowed handling circuit at the Colmis Proving Ground, located just outside of Arjeplog, Sweden.
In its default mode, the car is undeniably competent. However, the moment you ask too much of its set of unstudded snow tires, the stability and traction control systems react quickly and rather abruptly, cutting power. Attempting to accelerate out of a corner becomes a delicate balancing act, requiring you to keep both the steering and throttle inputs within a very narrow window of acceptable behavior. Stray too far from that window, and you’re simply not going anywhere.
Interestingly, though, it is possible to disable those safety systems with just a long press of the traction control button. With TC off, the stock Hyundai transforms into a fundamentally different beast. Suddenly, it’s possible to slide and spin the tires in a much more enjoyable manner. Yet, even in this mode, the experience remains far from rewarding. The Ioniq 5 proves extremely difficult to drift smoothly, prone to sudden and violent oversteer with little warning. Then, if you attempt to power your way out of those slides, the car has a nasty habit of falling into terminal understeer. Even with an aggressive Scandinavian flick maneuver, it simply plowed straight ahead the moment I applied the throttle.
Enter the Quad-Motor Ioniq
Elaphe’s version of the same car, however, presented a completely different experience. To create this demonstrator, the company removed Hyundai’s dual motors and installed four in-wheel hub motors. Each of these motors is capable of generating 188 horsepower and a staggering 1,254 lb-ft of torque. Elaphe integrated these motors with the car’s stock battery and power system, allowing the Ioniq 5 to even display the remaining state of charge on its touchscreen.
You get in, start up the car, and twist the drive selector forward for D, just as you would in a standard Ioniq. But everything from that point on is radically different.
In the default mode, the car remains safe and easy to manage on the slick surface. However, where Hyundai’s safety systems cut power abruptly upon detecting slip and are then reluctant to reapply it, Elaphe’s system is far more subtle. Turn the wheel into a corner, and the Ioniq gently reduces power so smoothly that I could keep my foot flat on the accelerator and simply drive around the course without interruption.
The system also increases the regenerative braking on the inside wheels to help the chassis rotate, but it never does so to the point of inducing oversteer. There’s just enough understeer to naturally encourage a novice driver to ease off the throttle.
From there, you can escalate to Sport and then Sport Plus modes, each offering progressively more control and power. In Sport Plus, the car becomes happy to engage in moderate drifts, while the throttle response becomes significantly livelier. But if you hang the tail out by more than a few degrees, the car smoothly brings it back in line, again relying on the individual regenerative braking power of the four wheels to do so without the harsh clatter of ABS intervention.
Yet, there is one more mode available, a true drift mode. In this setting, the system still provides some assistance, but by and large, it allows the driver complete freedom. The once-humble Ioniq 5 transforms into an absolute joy on the ice. You can hang the tail way out through tighter corners or power it sideways through faster ones.
The car behaves in a clean, predictable manner, free from abrupt power cuts or clumsy interventions. When you fall slightly behind in maintaining a drift, the system offers just a gentle nudge to prevent the tail from swinging around completely, but otherwise, you are free to pivot and swing the 4,600-pound EV as you desire.
Weight Implications
Elaphe representatives informed me that despite the addition of the extra motors, their version of the car weighs only a few pounds more than the standard Ioniq 5. The stock brakes are retained, but the suspension has been replaced by bespoke KW units, specifically calibrated to handle the added weight located in the wheels.
Surely, this increased unsprung mass must negatively impact the car’s handling, right? “The top test drivers at the top performance OEMs would disagree,” Elaphe CEO Gorazd Gotovac stated. “From my perspective, that’s enough for me.”
Gotovac acknowledged that for premium luxury vehicles, the additional weight in the wheels could potentially create complications with ride quality. However, he contends that this is not an insurmountable challenge and can be effectively addressed with more advanced suspension damping technologies. He firmly believes that the notion of in-wheel motors inherently reducing handling performance is simply a myth. “High-mu, low-mu, on tarmac and on ice, we prove that every day to OEMs,” he asserted.
Unfortunately, this is one area of evaluation we couldn’t fully explore. While the average frozen lake is naturally bumpy and uneven, the test courses we sampled in Sweden had been meticulously groomed to be ultra-smooth.
The additional mass concentrated in the wheels must surely have some negative implications, but Gotovac argued that these are far outweighed by the potential positives. By relocating the motors to the wheels, significant space is freed up within the chassis. This newfound space allows for the integration of larger batteries, increased cargo capacity, or simply leads to a more efficient overall vehicle package. Even this Ioniq 5, which typically features only a tiny frunk (front trunk), instead boasted a massive, empty space under its hood.
However, by designing a vehicle from the ground up to utilize these motors, Elaphe posits that cars can also achieve lower overall weight. This is accomplished by utilizing smaller brake components and eliminating the need for reduction gearsets and differentials, both of which contribute to power loss. When designed with this philosophy in mind, Elaphe estimates that vehicles could also be up to 10 percent cheaper to manufacture, especially when factoring in the smaller batteries required for lighter, more efficient cars.
And what about servicing the brakes, which are now partially enclosed by those motors? Once you remove the wheel, you’ll find three exposed bolt heads. Loosen those bolts, replace them with pins to secure the motor’s rotor and stator in place, and then simply unplug the motor and lift it off. The process is remarkably straightforward.
This is not a maintenance task you should need to perform frequently, thanks to the motors handling much of the braking duty. Nevertheless, Elaphe designed its hub motors to fit over even large sports brakes, measuring up to nearly 14.8 inches in diameter. For their hypercar-specific motors, they’ve even accommodated sizes up to 15.7 inches.
AWD American Muscle
Elaphe’s prototype pony car (they requested that we not identify the specific model) was clearly not originally designed for this application. As such, Elaphe’s engineers had to remove the rear seat and replace it with a 9.
