This electric car manufacturer has given a Land Rover Defender four electric hub motors (2024)

British electric car company BEDEO specializes in converting diesel vans into hybrids thanks to smart in-wheel motor technology. And with its latest project – a conversion to an electric Land Rover Defender – the technology could end up in your driveway.

The now defunct 'old' Defender from Land Rover is a ripe candidate for thisan EV rest mod. There is room inside for engines, batteries and various other items; in certain parts of the world you may find yourself encountering them without even trying. For some reason, people get all nostalgic, so they don't mind throwing money at their perfect Landie. There are enough already; it's the British armylook to convertpart of its fleet of electric car defenders, whilerestomod companies will sell youone covered in the skin of an exotic creature, and countless other lawssuper stylish cruiseups and downs of lumps and bumps in the world.

While most would rip out the diesel engine and replace it with a traditional EV powertrain, BEDEO's approach is different. Instead of mounting the motor(s) on the chassis, connected to the wheels by driveshafts, the company mounts them by placing one motor in each wheel, saving space elsewhere to avoid taking up space previously occupied by oily parts were ingested.

However, BEDEO has no plans to sell directly to consumers. Instead, it will offer its solution to other companies looking to offer electric conversions, allowing them to provide the level of resto service they want. Before that happens, the company has converted its own Land Rover as a proof of concept.

The motors are from partner Protean, which has been working with hub motor technology for years. The two work together on BEDEO's bread-and-butter business of converting existing diesel vans into hybrids - the ICE components remain in place and drive the front wheels, and the rear wheels receive electric power, connected to a conveniently located battery . Fleets can keep their existing vehicles in use while still complying with Britain's low emission zones. (BEDEO also offers a full EV conversion as an alternative to the hybrid upfit.) These EV and hybrid conversions have provided BEDEO with a lot of real-world data (over 60 million km) and have shown how tough Protean's wheel motors are. Get things stress tested wheels, like a van driver in a hurry.

So how does this system work? Instead of a pair of axle-mounted motors powered by a battery, there are four wheel motors and a 75 kWh battery. This combination, says BEDEO, means it weighs about the same as the ICE setup it replaces and is good for 243 kilometers on the WLTP cycle. Charging to 100 percent takes five hours with a 22 kW AC charge, or you can specify a 50 kW DC fast charge to get the job done in 90 minutes. The engines generate 320 hp (239 kW) and a whopping 2,598 Nm (1,916 lb⋅ft), although that doesn't mean it's super fast; 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) takes 10 seconds and the car reaches a top speed of 129 km/h (80 mph).

On the road, it feels a lot like a Defender: heavy, not as fast, and completely of its time. The controls, apart from some useful displays and a new steering wheel, are exactly as you'd expect from Solihull's best. The biggest difference is that all the squeaks and rattles that came standard from the factory can no longer hide behind a climbing diesel engine. There are a number of regenerative braking modes to choose from, and around town I found it was best to leave this in the strongest setting, which allows for one-pedal driving. Power delivery is smooth, and while the 0-62mph time seems a bit glassy by modern EV standards, it feels adequate in this context.

For my test drive, the BEDEO didn't limit me to road driving, but pointed me toward muddy roads with instructions to see what it could do. I wouldn't call the route that challenging, but it was enough to demonstrate the benefit of four independently steerable wheels. You could feel the wheels doing different things when things got a little slippery. The advantage of driving each wheel separately is clear here: no big, heavy mechanical differentials are needed, just motors that talk to an electronic brain.

As a concept it works well. The cabin and trunk don't end with electronics or battery, and you can certainly get 100 miles of fun out of it. The issue of unsprung weight will be a factor for some, but it doesn't really matter here. The car is already a heavy lump and no one driving it is going to try to cut corners at top speed. This can be a problem with a supercar, but with a Landie? No. There may be more BEDEO kits on the way that use Protean technology, but who knows what they will be. For now, the Defender concept works and will soon be coming to a resto-modder, or maybe even a cool OEM, near you.