Jeep unveiled a new electric vehicle with a name inspired by the X-Men: Wrangler Magneto. However, don’t get your hopes up that this is the electric Jeep Wrangler you could be wishing for – the Magneto is just a concept car, so you probably won’t be able to buy one anytime soon.
The car’s design is based on the 2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, but it has an electric motor that offers up to 273 pound-feet of torque and 285 horsepower, and comes equipped with an 800-volt system distributed over four batteries, according to Jeep . The company has not shared a range of how far the Magneto can go without needing a load, although that is not so surprising, as it is a concept car.
The Magneto also, interestingly, comes equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. And while this may be surprising, since most electric cars have one-speed transmissions, the Magneto is not actually the first electric concept car to have a multi-speed transmission. Ford unveiled a fully electric Mustang concept with a six-speed manual transmission, the Mustang Lithium, in November 2019.
Jeep’s parent company, Fiat Chrysler (which is now called Stellantis) has been slow to adopt EVs, and with GMC’s Hummer EV and Rivian’s R1T pickup on the horizon, Stellantis is in danger of losing customers if do not offer an electric version the Jeep, one of its most iconic cars. And while Stellantis has made some bold promises about its plans for electric vehicles, Magneto lacks some substance to show that any type of electric Wrangler will be launched soon.