4 wheel drive vehicles are cars in which all the four wheels receive torque power from the engine simultaneously. Four power cars are also referred to as 4WD or 4x4 cars. The first four refers to the number of wheels while the second four refers to the number of wheels that receive power from the engine. 4W drive cars are better adapted to run better on low traction terrain such as mud, snow, ice, loose gravel and slippery surfaces where 4x2 may not be best suited. Four WD cars unlike all wheel drive (AWD) cars have an option allowing the driver to manually switch from 4-WDto two-wheel drive when it becomes appropriate such as when driving along paved streets. Some models even have an automatic switch option to transfer power from the engine to only two wheels instead of four automatically. The inventor of the first 4W drive is not well recorded. In 1893, Engineer Bramah Joseph Diploc submitted a patent for a four drive system with three differentials and four wheels steering which was later built. Ferdinand Porsche designed and constructed an electric vehicle that was four-wheel driven in 1899. The vehicle had an electric hub motor attached to each wheel. The Spyker 60 H.P was the first car with a six-cylinder engine and was presented in 1903 by Amsterdam based Dutch brothers Hendrik-Jan and Jacobus Spijeker. The car had two seats and was a 4W drive. In the United States, the first set of 4 cylinder drive cars where manufactured in 1906 by the Twyford Company of Pennsylvania and a total of six of them were first produced. One of which is still available and displayed occasionally. By the advent of World War two, 4 wheel drive cars, jeeps and trucks were quite popular and extensively used by the military of many countries. Since its humble beginnings 4 wheel control cars have now become very popular with numerous modern brand names around. Some popular brands include Mercedes, Hummer, Land rover, Ford, Range Rover, Rambler, Buick, Toyota, Audi, Volkswagen and many others.
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