Jeep Magneto 3.0 concept heralds Wrangler EV

The third and final concept for a Jeep Wrangler EV, dubbed the Magneto 3.0 project, has been revealed in the US with more power, more range and several new dust-devil tricks – all of which will influence the brand’s first-ever battery-electric Wrangler due in 2025.

Exposed ahead of the 57th running of the American off-road brand’s annual enthusiast gathering – the 2023 Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah – the Magneto 3.0 concept has been dubbed the ‘Final Charge’ and is essentially a Wrangler retro-fitted with an EV powertrain.

The battery-electric bush-basher was created to gauge consumer reaction to the idea of a hard-core electric off-roader (some 20,000 Jeep fans regularly attend the event) and also to experiment with the novel systems and ideas an electric driveline affords.

For starters, the Jeep Magneto 3.0 generates colossal power from its unorthodox (for an EV) axial flux electric motor, maxxing out at an eye-watering 485kW and 1220Nm (465hp/900lb-ft).

The mud-plugging concept’s 70kWh battery remains unchanged since version 2.0, but now has 20 per cent more usable energy thanks to improved software controls.

But don’t ask how far it will drive because the Magneto 3.0 project’s primary objective was never endurance, says Jeep’s head of design Mark Allen.

“The first thing people ask me is what's the range and what's the charging time because it's important for them to know. I don't care. It's not an impressive range or charging,” he admitted.

“It was more about what does an electric dedicated Jeep feel like, drive like? How does it respond and act?”

He explained the concept is a test-bed for future production versions, but carries over plenty of mechanical elements from the regular Wrangler including a six-speed manual transmission and dual-range transfer case with low-range.

“We kept the Jeep stick [Dynatrack] axles and coil spring suspension in place and we've modified the vehicle over the years and the six-speed [manual] is… actually sourced from a Hellcat Challenger – and even then we had to send it out to have it beefed up to handle the torque that this vehicle puts out,” he explained.

“It's got great throttle control, great finesse, and it's super adapted to rock crawling in the Moab environment,” said the Jeep design boss, pointing out its 3.0-inch lift kit and 20-inch beadlock wheels shod with 40-inch mud terrain tyres.

The Jeep Magneto 3.0 project also gets selectable drive modes that are likely to make their way into the production model, offering selectable brake energy regeneration modes including street and off-road settings.

“Imagine going down a very, very steep hill and not requiring the brakes and in fact needing to add throttle to get down the hill? It's that heavy of regen,” said the Jeep executive.

Jeep’s rock-climbing science experiment also has two different power modes – the full 485kW (650hp) wallop and a road-going, battery-saving 209kW (285hp) output – that are likely to make their way into the production-spec Wrangler EV.

In terms of the design, the Jeep Magneto’s body – based on a two-door Wrangler – has been heavily modified, starting with modified doorless passenger openings to improve access and a repositioned B-pillar to incorporate the custom sports bar.

“This year, we just refreshed the exterior features with the new 20th anniversary grille, transparent window on the hood to see the controller in there, chopped the top, laid the windshield back and added a new paint scheme… really to sort of refresh it up for its final show here,” said Allen.

The Jeep Magneto 3.0 concept will be put to the test on the 50 or so hard-core red rock trails of Moab and will heavily influence the upcoming production Jeep Wrangler EV, which CEO Christian Meunier previously said would be launched in 2025.

“By 2025 we’ll be offering a zero-emission, fully-electric Jeep 4xe in every single SUV segment,” stated Jeep’s global chief previously, meaning that all-new EVs already confirmed by Jeep including the Recon and Wagoneer S will be joined by battery-electric versions of the Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and of course the Wrangler.

The Jeep Wrangler Freedom concept shown in mid-2021 is likely to be aesthetically closer to the production version of Wrangler EV than the wild Magneto concept, but expect to see a handful of the latter’s daring design cues make the transition from fantasy to reality.

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