SIM-Drive's latest wheel-motored prototype is a sporty coupe

In Japan, it seems the fourth time's a charm. Meet SIM-HAL, the latest prototype from SIM-Drive and its partners. Like its three predecessors – the SIM-LEI, SIM-WIL, and SIM-CEL – this all-electric vehicle is a rolling exercise in efficiency and performance that depends upon a motor in each wheel to accelerate and recapture braking energy, while keeping mechanical drivetrain losses to the utmost minimum. It's also a little easier on the eyes than its forebears, sacrificing some utility and cabin space in favor of a sporty two-door coupe design. As a bonus, it won't refuse to open any pod bay doors.

Standing for "High efficiency All-wheel Link", HAL celebrates the company's continuing technological progress, boasting its latest "light-weight/high efficiency SS motor." These units are capable of an impressive 65 kW (87.17 horsepower) and 620 Nm (457.28 pound-feet) of torque each. Multiplied by four, that's 260 kW (348.7 hp) and 1,829.15 lb-ft of twisting force. Apply those numbers to the pavement in the 1,510-kg (3,329-pound) car and you're hitting 100 kph (62.14 miles per hour) in a respectable 4.7 seconds. Top speed is capped at 180 kph (111.8 mph).

While we, of course, love performance, efficiency is what really counts when it comes to electric vehicles. Here, the two-seater raises both eyebrows and the corners of lips, coaxing 404.1 km (251.1 miles) from its 35.1 kWh lithium battery using the somewhat generous JC08 protocol. That works out to a very economical 86.9 Wh/km (139.91 Wh/mile).

While we wait for more details to emerge and, hopefully, video of the SIM-HAL in action, we offer up below footage from another SIM-Drive vehicle, a Toyota AE86 electric conversion, below.