“You don’t need the clutch to launch, but you’ll need it for changing gears. Go ahead and start in third, okay? And make sure it’s 4 Low so we can climb those rock stairs.”
I may have blinked in askance at that sequence of commands uttered by Scott Tallon, a man who is part of top brass at Jeep and knows the brand better than most at HQ. Tallon was perched in the passenger seat of Magneto 2.0, a one-off all-electric prototype based on today’s Wrangler, but sharing as much in terms of propulsion with a production Wrangler as your author shares in terms of athleticism with an Olympic runner.
Every single automobile manufacturer on this green Earth is poised to crank up the number of electrified and all-electric vehicles bound for their showrooms within the next five to ten years. Whether it’s thanks to government decree (mostly) or consumer demand (partly), carmakers are busying themselves with electrons and batteries in order to get ready for The Great Tomorrow. Some brands will find this transition relatively straightforward; after all, if one has spent years simply hucking appliances for basic transportation, there isn’t too much brand DNA that needs to make the jump to electrification.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s Jeep. More than just about any other brand on sale today, it has an image to uphold. Visions of rocks and mud and off-road prowess dance through the heads of every customer as they sign on the dotted line at a Jeep dealership; whether they end up using their vehicle’s true capabilities to the fullest extent doesn’t matter. The family Grand Cherokee Trailhawk could tackle the Hell’s Revenge trail in Moab if the situation arose — an important detail, even if the only off-roading that particular GC experiences is the perpetually crumbling curb in a Canadian Tire parking lot.
Jeep Wrangler Magneto 2.0 Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep Wrangler Magneto 2.0 Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep Wrangler Magneto 2.0 Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep Wrangler Magneto 2.0 Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep Wrangler Magneto 2.0 Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep Wrangler Magneto 2.0 Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep Wrangler Magneto 2.0 Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep Wrangler Magneto 2.0 Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep Wrangler Magneto 2.0 Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
So the road to electrification for Jeep, like the paths its rigs can navigate, is a bit rocky. It won’t be enough to heave a few batteries and a custom-built axial-flux electric motor into a Wrangler and call it a day. That’s why the brand has spent untold amounts of cash and sweat equity into research and development, culminating (for the moment) with the Magneto 2.0 concept you see here. The “2.0” is a nod to the fact this machine showed up on last year’s circuit, but has since been cranked to 625 hp and 850 lb-ft and earned a beefed-up manual transmission with roots in the Hellcat.
Hence the instructions at the top of this post from our man at Jeep. No, the Magneto does not necessarily foreshadow the precise powertrain configuration of a production Wrangler EV; rather, say engineers, it provides them an open laboratory with which to explore and refine electric power delivery in off-road settings.
As the Magneto 2.0 sits, it has four lithium-ion battery packs located about the body (whose wheelbase is stretched a foot over stock) for even weight distribution, packing a total of 70 kWh. Range is immaterial for the moment since this is a test bed, but the 120-mile (200-kilometre) figure was mentioned during an online presentation. The aforementioned Hellcat manual was strengthened and given new ratios, while an ICE-style 4WD transfer case with high- and low-range permits even more torque multiplication.
Jeep® Wrangler Magneto 2.0 Concept Photo by Matthew Guy
The driving experience is alien. With the cue-ball shifter in third, a simple flex of my big toe on the throttle pedal is enough to propel us forward over the red rocks of Moab. Locked hubs mean a sharp turn of the steering wheel to descend a portion of the trail produces tire chip on Utah’s beautiful sliprock, a sound your author has never heard combined with the whir of electric motors. In fact, silent off-roading proves to be a delight, permitting one to hear every crunch of gravel and squeak of 40-inch off-road rubber. Viewing some of Magneto’s electric gubbins under a supercar-like Plexiglas window never got old.
Powering up and over a series of rock obstacles was a snap thanks to an endless well of all-electric torque and massive tires. While a stickshift won’t happen in production off-road EVs (it’s simply what they currently have on the shelf that works) I can totally see Jeep offering some sort of step-gear transmission system in the eventual Wrangler EV, since true off-roading requires multiplication – and precise control – of torque. This would make all-electrics an easier sell to the Jeep faithful and be an incredibly unique selling proposition.
Power delivery in the Magneto 2.0 could be light-switch in nature if not modulated correctly, and a transfer case anomaly caused forward motion to briefly cease during our drive. Both of those behaviours simply underscored the machine’s role as a concept vehicle and test bed of ideas. If this is the future, sign me up.
Jeep Bob Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep Bob Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep Bob Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep Bob Concept at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep SEMA Concepts at the 2022 Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah Photo by Matthew Guy
Jeep® ’41 Concept
Elsewhere in Jeep’s concept lab, we sampled a Gladiator pickup truck called “Bob” which had been shortened by 12 inches – bobbed off, geddit? – to create a rig with pickup-ish functionality but the departure angles of an SUV. Far from a simple Sawzall job, this concept also lost its doors and B-pillar, which opened the cabin to Moab’s surprising temperatures, which hovered around the freezing mark. Also shod with 40-inch tires and a custom suspension, Bob had no trouble clambering up and over undulating Utah slickrock with minimal effort. Don’t expect this thing to reach production, but it is a tacit nod by Jeep to fans who have done this conversion job on their own.
Closer to production were the Rubicon 20th Anniversary and Jeep ’41 concepts. Propelled by stock powertrains – an electrified 4xe and burly 392 V8, respectively – these machines drove like churched-up production units, because that’s exactly what they are. We’d be fools to think Jeep will let the two-decade anniversary of the Rubicon trim pass unmentioned, so expect some sort of special edition like the one shown here with a lift kit from Jeep Performance Parts and a few other beefy goodies. The ’41 is a great nod to brand history, and those wheels that look like old-school steel units but are actually lightweight aluminum are simply too cool not to offer in the JPP catalog.
Acknowledging the past is important, especially when one has a rich and deep well of history from which to draw. Concepts like the ’41 do an admirable job of this, while rigs like Magneto 2.0 show the way to an electrified future. We’re already eager to see what’s in the hopper for next year.
Keyword: Future’s Sandbox: Jumping behind the wheel of Jeep’s off-road concepts