[quote=roon]
[quote="Tommy Cookers"]4 MGs could allow clever 4wd hybridised with an ICE having mechanical transmission without any differentials[/quote]
How would this be arranged?[/quote]
possibly ......
a shaft common to front left and right side half axles and to rear left and right right half side axles
ie notionally fixed split of mechanical torque front:rear (including a small front:rear tyre diametral difference) and 50/50 or nearly 50/50 split left:right
4 axle MGs typically adding or subtracting (openly or stealthily) torques in combination with the 4 mechanical torques ....
matching to each of the 4 wheel contact loads each of the 4 axle combined torques output to road
ideally speaking we combine the mechanical shafts with the MGs as a Prius does today (and widely used eg tanks decades before Toyota IPR farming)
ie mechanical shaft and MG shaft each driving a sun wheel within a common planetary system which carries the combined output
giving each wheel independent variability of combined torque and combined rpm to the extent required (with 4 quadrant scope)
ok this is differential gearing, but not a differential 'as we know it'
alternatively if each MG shaft was in series with the mechanical shaft each wheel torque is variable but wheel rpm is common - too much like a solid diff ?
or of course we could have some combined mechanical 2wd and electrical 4wd
with either we could be eg .....
driving through corners generating on the inner axles and adding MG torque to the outer axles
(using the drives inherent onboard capacitive 'float' so not involving the battery ES loss etc)
also front:rear torque/rpm distribution or torque only redistribution is possible
and all the present stuff
and accessing some interesting effects under braking
and working the tyres to control their temperature
http://eahart.com/prius/psd/