Tech Trend 247

Earlier this month, Acura announced it was taking three versions of its NSX supercar to the 100th running of the Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado.

In that same announcement, the Japanese luxury automaker revealed that one of the NSX model's in the infamous race is an all-electric, four-motor, all-wheel drive concept.

This morning, however, Acura gave us a more detailed look under the hood of the sleek electric supercar.

Unlike other all-wheel drive performance electric vehicles on sale today, like Tesla's Model S P90D, the NSX concept features not two electric motors, but four — one for each wheel.

With a dedicated motor at each corner, the Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system can precisely tailor the torque applied to each wheel. This allows each wheel to behave independently, which will further improve performance and handling.

How, exactly, does that work? Electric motors can apply either positive torque for forward movement or negative torque to slow the wheel much faster than a traditional drivetrain, all-wheel drive or otherwise. That means the NSX concept should be able to corner and accelerate not only better than a mechanical all-wheel drive car, but also a one- or two-motor EV.

There is more at stake than simply winning a race. With this kind of technological step forward, Acura inches closer to a production version of its four-motor Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system — something that could make consumer EVs safer and more efficient.