by Matt Konkle
Torque Editor-in-Chief
Drive around Moab, Utah during any Easter Jeep Safari week and you’ll hear all kinds of noise. Stuff like aired down tires chirping around corners, engines of varying power revving, flapping soft tops, or the relentless pounding of knobby mud terrain rubber against asphalt.
At this year’s EJS, though, there will be at least one vehicle that bucks the noisy trend.
Call it Magneto. A quiet, all-electric Jeep Wrangler concept.
Jeep Tuesday released two new teaser photos for its upcoming crop of 2021 Easter Jeep Safari concept vehicles — one of which leapt out of those images in a sea of white, black and blue; sporting the name Magento along the side of its hood. The other an orange and black mystery that has similar cues to the CJ66 from a few year’s back.
One is clear, though, even if the images are not too revealing — Jeep plans to bring plenty of noiseless electrification to the southeastern Utah desert this spring.
"Legendary Jeep off-road 4x4 capability, unbridled fun, open-air freedom and electric powertrains will take center stage during this year’s Easter Jeep Safari," the automaker said in a short news release, with the caveat that more images and information are coming soon.
Jeep normally lugs several concept vehicles to EJS each year, and assembles them right in the middle of Moab for all show-goers to see. Some of the more popular ones in the past include Crew Chief 715, Jeep J6, Wrangler Trailcat, Shortcut, Five-Quarter and JT Scrambler.
Over the past few years, designers have also stuck to a main theme around each concept release, putting ‘hidden-in-plain-sight’ elements of the JL Wrangler into the 2017 vehicles, JL-specific work ups for 2018 and all-Gladiator editions in 2019.
Jeep first announced plans to bring an all-electric Wrangler concept to Easter Jeep Safari back in February, and also indicated they are planning to build a series of charging terminals at major off-road destinations in the near future. Jeep said it will release more information on those terminals during EJS week.
The brand currently is in the process of producing its 4xe hybrid electric Wrangler, and expects to have that edition into showrooms sometime in the spring.
One question many had back when Jeep indicated they were redesigning Wrangler, was whether the new vehicle would keep that legendary Jeep styling. And just like JL produced an affirmative answer, these new concept photos also show Jeep is committed to that same design into the electrification age.
From an earlier cutaway diagram Jeep provided, Magento appears to utilize a traditional-looking gearbox and transfer case, while the normal gasoline powerplant has been removed for more batteries and a single electric motor.
The vehicle also looks to have many of the 4xe Wrangler’s parts, including blue color scheme and driver’s side charging port in front of the A-pillar. Another reassuring element is the electrified Wrangler will still have a body-on-frame setup like the standard version.
While Jeep reports its Wrangler 4xe will have a 25-mile electric driving range, 375 horsepower and a stunning 470 lb-ft of torque, it did not indicate any ratings for its Magento concept.
Still, expect an all-electric production Wrangler to no doubt follow this concept — perhaps as early as this year.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said last week that the automaker is not looking to spend more on internal combustion engines. Instead, he said, it is going "full-throttle" on fully battery-electric vehicles with plans to produce most of the powertrain parts in-house.
"That's where we are," Tavares said. "We are not thinking that we still have the (plug-in hybrid) EV or the (mild hybrid) EV. No, no, we just believe that is going to disappear, because there will be a ban on ICEs."
Stellantis filed for a trademark of the Magneto name back in early Feburary, and it could come from the Marvel comic book mutant character associated with the X-Men franchise that has ability to generate and control magnetic fields.
Moab's 55th annual Easter Jeep Safari runs March 27-April 4.
