Mitsubishi testing Lancer EVO with in-wheel electric motors

It's called the Lanver Evolution MIEV, which stands for Mitsubishi In-wheel Electric Vehicle. Like its name indicates, the EVO MIEV has four electric motors located in the wheels packaged neatly with the brake assemblies and steering hardware. We posted on Mitsu developing this technology on one of its Colts, but the system on this EVO is different in that it features a hollow-doughnut construction that locates the rotor outside the stator, as opposed to vice-versa in a common electric motor. This offers benefits in terms of power output, space efficiency and weight, the latter of which directly affects the vehicle's handling. The all-electric EVO MIEV will be competing in the Shikoku EV Rally 2005 being held August 27-28 on the island of Shikoku, Japan. Mitsubishi is using the event to test the system's range and durability in various environments. Currently the company is one of the few researching in-wheel electric motors, the development and mass-production of which could help draw positive attention to Mitsubishi the same way the Prius did for Toyota. And just imagine a real hybrid EVO with in-wheel electric motors and a 350+hp 2.0T. Mmm… that'd be fun.