From MECCANO MAGAZINE March 1956, page 155:

“A Gearless Rear Axle Drive The simple rear axle unit for model vehicles seen in Fig. 4.... The device is intended for use in models when sufficient gears are not available to assemble the usual type of differential mechanism...”

It works, but I don't think that can be used for more than demonstration purposes.

Kostas Bozikis (www.bozikis.co.uk)