A new Hyundai Mobis project has created something we’ve all always wanted - a car that can drive sideways.
The project installs numerous systems into a Hyundai Ioniq 5 to make four-wheel steering possible. Functionally, it works in a similar way to the Hummer EV’s Crabwalk feature, but in reality it’s so much more useful for one big reason - it would make it so much easier to get parked!
Autoblog reports on the feature that could be used in cars as soon as 2025. Called e-Corner, it allows for 90-degree four-wheel steering thanks to a number of special additions. “The feature is called e-Corner, and it bundles brake-by-wire, steer-by-wire, an electric motor, and an electric damper in all four wheel assemblies,” the report says. And while this concept shows it working on an Ioniq 5, it can actually be used “in several vehicle types without compromising space.”
That should theoretically allow e-Corner to be used just as easily on the smallest city car as it would be on the biggest of SUVs. And there’s no denying that a car that can effectively drive sideways could help prevent a problem that has plagued drivers for many a year - curbed alloy wheels.
Unfortunately we don’t have any indication of when Hyundai actually plans to bring this technology to market, although the company did apparently say that it could begin rolling it out as soon as 2025. There’s also a suggestion that Hyundai Mobis could sell the technology to other companies as well, with there being talk of “mass-production orders from global carmakers.”
As much as cars have gotten easier to park over the years thanks to advanced technology that causes them to do it for us, sometimes the space is just so small that it’s impossible to get into. That’s where this kind of technology could do wonders, especially in towns and cities where parking is already at a premium.
