[consp]

> The standard response to that is a hand wavey "unsprung mass". But has it actually been tried and shown to be an issue?

Afaik with high performance motors, if you want optimal performance and space efficiency you take the unsprung mass for granted and move everything in wheel and try to reduce the mass as much as possible. As a bonus you do not need joints, just a planetary gear system.

[benj111]

Why only high performance though.

A motor per wheel simplifies everything.

No diff, no CV joints, you don't need this, just a simple planetary gearbox.

You gain space, lower manufacturing costs (theoretically, assuming multiple motors doesn't offset the other cost reductions, although as you could base a 2wd and 4wd high performance version on the same motor, that's an even harder case to make).

[lstodd]

Everyone says "unsprung mass" but you also have to provide cooling without ingesting all the dirt and water off the road. It's not that simple.

[benj111]

Brake lines are a solved problem. Water lines wouldn't be any more difficult. If air cooled it could be a sealed unit.