AWD E-Hatch

Another small car, but this time an EV with AWD!

Free Instructions may be found at Rebrickable.com.

I have been enjoying the small LEGO car theme that has been growing ever since the release of LEGO set 42098. Not only was it a well designed set, it opened up the 15 stud wide car theme which has been going strong ever since. I have enjoyed many builds by a lot of other designers, and I have had a lot of fun with many of my own builds.

I was tinkering with some ideas recently on a fake electric drive for this scale, and through this tinkering I found another idea that would work well for a front steering axle. Applying a fake motor to the rear axle was simple enough as the differential could drive an electric motor directly. But for the front, I removed the differential, but still used the gear to drive a fake motor. Using a CV joint on each side on which to mount the wheel would allow for the steering to work. The steering knuckle pivots are out of line of the CV joint pivot, but since the CV joint allows for frictionless movement of an axle, it allowed for a the center axle to flex a little bit during the steering movement. The center axle is mounted on a pivot that manages the movement.

The system works well, and means the front fake electric motors is always turning when the car is moving. The steering gets a little gummy at full lock as the front axle would be better with a differential, but the idea works well enough.

Adding in a HOG was simple enough, and I had enough space to add a connection to the front steering wheel. I wanted to try a different interior setup with seating for three, so this worked well with the center steering. Also, I complicated things just a little bit on the front axle, by having the axle a half stud lower than the rear to give the car a leaning forward look.

Finally, I worked on the bodywork to give an updated look to the classic rally hatchback from yesteryear. The comically large wing, and the large side intakes harken to the Renault Turbo 5 and the more recent R5 Turbo 3E.

I have enjoyed building in this scale, and it will not be the last time I do so. It was fun to try another feature for this scale, and I think with a little more work, the front axle will be perfect. I love the design on the car as the black, red, and dark azure look great with the proportions and bodywork. I hope you enjoy too.

Happy building!