Every wheelbase in the Den is direct drive. The motor sits on the same shaft as the wheel, with no belt or gears in between. You feel the car through the rim: the tyre loading up in a corner, the front going light under braking.
What the Nm number means
Nm is newton metres, the peak twisting force the wheel can push back with. A 5Nm base is gentle. A 27Nm base can pull your arms if you hold on wrong. Higher numbers show more detail, but they also ask more of the driver.
Why we match torque to age
Scout rigs run 5Nm for kids, Rogue runs 12Nm for teens, Phantom runs 20Nm for adults, and the Apex Static pro rig runs 27Nm. A child on a strong wheel fights the force and learns nothing about the car. On a rig sized to them, they feel what the tyres are doing.
Load cell pedals
The brake reads pressure, not travel. That is how a real car brakes, so the muscle memory carries over. It is also why kids who start on load-cell pedals brake more consistently later.