In 1900, Porsche invented the technology that would take NASA to the Moon

Almost 125 years ago, Ferdinand Porsche contributed to the development of an electric vehicle powered by wheel cube motors. This technology caused a sensation and was even used on the Lune almost 70 years later.

April 14, 1900an innovative electric vehicle using Lohner-Porsche system was presented to the Electricity Palace during the Paris Universal Exhibition. The German newspaper Berliner Zeitung mentioned that “the striking innovation of this vehicle is the total elimination of the intermediate transmission (…) thanks to the integration of electric motors in the front wheels”.

Creativity and the quest for optimization

Only 24 ansFerdinand Porsche was already making his debut as a co-designer of automobiles. In just ten weeks he had developed for the Viennese company Jacob Lohner & Co. an electric car with motors integrated into the front axle. Each engine provided 2.5 horsepower and allowed the Lohner-Porsche to achieve a speed of 32 km/h. This vehicle was also equipped with a four-wheel braking system, a real feat for the time. It quickly became clear that technical talent, innovative design and the desire to improve existing solutions formed a harmonious combination at Ferdinand Porsche. The wheel cube motor scored a turning point in his career.

It is remarkable that this technology was called the ‘Lohner-Porsche system’ from the start, because Porsche, together with Ludwig Lohner, designed a modular electric drive system and designed the engine in three sizes and power levels, up to 12 horsepower per wheel, intended for passenger cars, buses and heavy trucks. The range of vehicles equipped with lead-acid batteries was around 50 kilometers. Porsche also considered its use in competition, as auto racing was growing in popularity. So, in 1900, he manufactured an electric racing vehicle equipped with four cube wheel motors offering 14 horsepower, named ‘The Always Happy’. It was the world’s first vehicle with all-wheel drive.

The first functional hybrid vehicle

Based on the modular system, Porsche also developed the first hybrid vehicle known at the time, the Lohner-Porsche ‘Semper Vivus’ (Always Alive). The idea of ​​a mixed electric/gasoline propulsion was born due to the growing problems of batteries and a Charging infrastructure practically non-existent. In the improved version, called Mixte (begun in 1901), these problems were cleverly solved by operating the four-cylinder engine at the front as a mobile source of electricity via a generator.

In total, approximately 300 vehicles based on the ‘Lohner-Porsche system’ were produced. Among them, 40 were assigned to Vienna Fire Department and others served as taxis or were acquired by individuals. However, the wheel cube engine soon fell into obscurity, overshadowed by other concepts more suited to mass production. However, in the early 1970s, this technology re-emerged and really took off. Indeed, the three lunar vehicles of the NASA, the ‘Lunar Rover Vehicles’ of the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions, were also powered by cube wheel engines, thanks to the pioneering work of Porsche. This would not have surprised his former superior, Ludwig Lohner. When Lohner was asked about this designer at the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris, he expressed a clear prediction: ”He is a man with a great future, you will hear a lot about Ferdinand Porsche”.