ZF Friedrichshafen AG, a car parts manufacturer primarily known for its transmissions, has unveiled a new know-how – a steering system that supports turning the front wheels by up to 80 degrees. This can be especially handy when parking in tight spots, although some time will have to pass before the market adopts the new tech.
Called the ZF Easy Turn, the feature requires no modifications of the steering rack and does not involve constant-velocity joints, instead offering its own sophisticated mechanism. It seems that only RWD models are supported.
The company has yet to polish the system for it to be viable for the mass market. As it stands, new suspension parts occupy too much space where the structural parts of the car are supposed to be and also reduce the engine bay space.
In addition to the existing issues, ZF believes it would be handy to introduce a special electronic limiter on how far the wheels can turn, so that you could use the extreme angles only when parking. For front-wheel-drive cars, constant-velocity universal ball joints can be replaced with electric motors.
ZF debuted its invention of the RWD BMW i3, which is an electric car lacking an engine bay.