GKN Driveline reveals next-gen electric drive system to power anything from city car to all-electric hypercar

GKN Driveline is behind the drive systems of several popular electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road today, like the Volvo XC90 or BMW i8, and they have been looking to expand their EV business.

Toward that effort, they unveiled today their next-generation of electric vehicles driveline.

GKN claims that with the new system called ‘eTwinsterX’ they made the coaxial format way smaller while maintaining the power output.

They claim that it enables them to deliver a unique two-speed transmission and torque vectoring to virtually any electric vehicle platform:

“GKN Driveline’s new ‘eTwinsterX’ system has capabilities beyond that of any current electrified driveline. It is uniquely adaptable to any vehicle type – front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The range of potential applications extends from entry-level electric city cars to plug-in hybrid luxury SUVs and fully electric all-wheel-drive hypercars.”

They unveiled the first few configurations of the system ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show today:

GKN says that they can use the same system in anything from a small compact to a hypercar and simply tune the driveline to fit the requirements.

CEO of GKN Driveline’s AWD and eDrive business, Peter Moelgg, said:

“The new eTwinsterX axle is a combination of GKN Driveline technologies that will deliver unrivalled capabilities for the next generation of electric vehicles. It takes multiple award-winning elements from our driveline portfolio and applies the principles in a single state-of-the-art electrified system. Furthermore, our capability as a complete systems integration partner will allow us to calibrate this eAxle to deliver fully brand-aligned experiences for our OEM customers.”

While some German automakers have slipped behind in the electric car revolution, big name German auto suppliers seem to get behind the transition quicker. GKN Driveline, Bosch, and BorgWarner have all recently announced new lines of key electric vehicle components to facilitate the accelerate the production of EVs.