A company called Horse Powertrain has revealed a fascinating new idea that could completely change how automakers think about EV platforms.
Instead of building an entirely new hybrid vehicle from scratch, Horse has created a compact system that can essentially turn an EV into a hybrid.
It’s called the Horse X-Range C15 Direct Drive.
And it’s far smaller than you’d expect.
It Combines A Small Gas Engine With Electric Motors
Image Credit: Horse Powertrain.
The system pairs two major components.
The first is Horse’s F15 electric motor.
The second is a compact C15 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine.
Together, they create a parallel hybrid setup designed to replace an EV’s existing drive unit.
Everything is packaged into one compact module.
The Engine Uses A Very Unusual Layout
Packaging is where this gets interesting.
To help it fit underneath an EV’s low floor, the gasoline engine sits nearly flat.
That layout is similar to the old Toyota Previa.
The rest of the hybrid hardware is also packaged tightly to minimize space requirements.
Horse says the unit is designed to fit anywhere a traditional EV drive unit would normally sit.
It’s Designed To Help Automakers Pivot Faster
Image Credit: Horse Powertrain.
Horse says this system gives automakers more flexibility.
Instead of committing fully to EVs, companies could quickly adapt existing platforms into hybrids or range-extender vehicles.
That could be particularly useful as EV demand remains inconsistent in some markets.
It also allows manufacturers to respond faster without redesigning entire vehicles.
There Are Still Big Challenges
This isn’t exactly a simple weekend conversion project.
Questions still remain about where automakers would place:
Additional cooling systems
Custom engineering would still be required.
Still, it’s a clever solution, and it shows that the future may not be fully electric or fully gasoline, but somewhere in the middle.
If you want more stories like this, follow Guessing Headlights on Yahoo so you don’t miss what’s coming next.