New EV motor invention could cut 1,000 pounds from future vehicles, making them much lighter while boosting their range | Live Science

[MARC NORDLUND]

https://www.livescience.com/technology/electric-vehicles/new-ev-motor-invention-could-cut-1-000-pounds-from-future-vehicles-making-them-much-lighter-while-boosting-their-range 

[Paul G.]

Well that sets off my BS meter! EVs don’t typically have anywhere near 1000 pounds of motor, and they are already in the 80% efficiency range. I’m not seeing how some new in wheel motor is going to generate that kind of weight savings, or how an efficiency increase of the EV motor would allow a large reduction in battery pack size. 

Paul G.

On Dec 22, 2025, at 8:39 PM, MARC NORDLUND <mnord...@gmail.com> wrote:

https://www.livescience.com/technology/electric-vehicles/new-ev-motor-invention-could-cut-1-000-pounds-from-future-vehicles-making-them-much-lighter-while-boosting-their-range 

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[Glenn Brooks]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting.   The article actually talks about shaving up to 1000# from traditional power plants and drive chains - not existing EV design. Scrap traditional over the road frame and ice powered body designs and you could well get to a 1000# weight reduction.  Aircraft and marine vessel design has seen  remarkable design innovation leading to weight reduction and horsepower efficiency.   BMW isn’t exactly an unknown, backyard hacker in the EV world. So I am willing to be excited about the possibilities. 

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[Rollie Perez]

Weight reduction would come from elimination of drive shafts and universal joints and the structures to support them. Smaller batteries would be required for the same range if the drive train is more efficient. 

The method loads are transmitted from tire patch through to the center of mass of the vehicle would be quite different, and I can't picture the effects. It might be analogous to tightening a screw using a manual screwdriver versus a drill driver. What are the effects at your elbow and shoulder joints?

Certainly ordinary cars would require a far less powerful (and lighter) motor than the hypercar motor in the article. It would be interesting to read an analysis on unsprung weight effects, suspension and chassis design.

Rollie Perez 

425-830-2396

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From: seva...@googlegroups.com <seva...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Glenn Brooks <glenn.b...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2025 2:02 AM
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Subject: Re: [SEVA] New EV motor invention could cut 1,000 pounds from future vehicles, making them much lighter while boosting their range | Live Science

 

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[Mark Yormark]

For a perspective, a rotary forged Tesla  20"Cyberstream wheel weighs 32 pounds for the wheel by itself. while aftermarket  monoblock forged wheels weigh as low as 22 pounds each, a 10  pound difference.

Now the question is, can YASA proportionally scale these 28 pound 1000 horsepower motors to a lesser horsepower version weighing proportional less. e.g. a 4 times smaller motor weighing 7 pounds producing 250 horsepower?  If they can do that, the Unsprung weight issue is no longer a problem, if they also make that motor withstand the dynamic environment of the road surface.

Mark Yormark

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