As we already know, the world of motors is one of the one that evolves the most in a short time. Now they are about to change what we know about electric motors. Imagine a lighter, more powerful, environmentally friendly car… And one that doesn’t take up space on the hood. Strange, right? Well, what seems to be taken from a movie is what the company Donut Lab is trying to do, which wants to break the rules by creating a donut-shaped engine.
That’s right, just as you read, this donut-shaped engine is breaking the logic we have today about what an engine is, since this design is not placed under the hood, but is integrated directly into the wheels, eliminating unnecessary components.
Revolution on wheels: the donut motor.
As we have said before, this innovation belongs to the company Donut Lab, and was presented at the CES in Las Vegas (2025). Although it seems very novel, there has been talk for years about integrating electric motors into the wheels, but what nobody expected was the shape of this novel motor that would put hydrogen engines at risk to put electric motors under the spotlight.
The American company exhibited a unit of this motor, much more compact, improved and lighter. The best thing? That it costs half as much as its predecessor!
Main features of the donut motor:
Mainly, that it is a much smaller motor than others (weighing about 40 kg), which is also integrated into the wheels (21 inches) without the need for drive shafts. If we talk about the performance of this engine, the most powerful version is capable of generating 845 hp and 4,300 Nm of torque (in an all-wheel drive car, it could unload 3,380 hp and 17,200 Nm to the ground).
But the best of all is not that, but that this design could be adapted to all types of vehicles (and even drones!) because they are still developing a smaller version, with 22 hp power to fit into 12-inch wheels and be used for electric scooters.
Does this design have advantages?
Of course, by eliminating components it makes it much lighter, and one of those elements that would no longer be necessary, for example, would be the transmission shafts and differentials. On the other hand, the fact that the power is produced directly in the wheels would improve efficiency and there would be no energy lost in the process.
Is there nothing wrong with this engine?
Not bad, but it should be noted that an electric car should have at least two units or four if you want to take advantage of the greater four-wheel drive.
A step towards a cleaner world
That’s right, humanity already knows that it has to say goodbye to fossil fuels because their environmental footprint is enormous, and, although they have shown their efficiency for years, it is time to say goodbye and make way for other types of technologies that do not compromise the environment as much. This is how renewable fuels (biofuels, green hydrogen and synthetic fuels) come about. The idea of this type of fuel is to transform the energy context while adapting to new environmental regulations because we cannot let our world continue to suffer the damage caused by fuels.
This is not the end of hydrogen-powered engines, but it is clear that the transition to electric mobility is a reality that is already taking us into the future of the automotive industry. This donut engine is one of the clearest examples we have to realize that it only takes time for us to no longer need to depend on hydrogen to achieve good power. And you, what do you think?