![I did burnouts in the mud at Mt. Magna testing a new 4WD EV powertrain system [Videos]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/07/Magna-EV-Mud-burnout-Jeep-Glasiator.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
I did burnouts in the mud at Mt. Magna testing a new 4WD EV powertrain system [Videos]
Yes, that’s a Jeep Gladiator in the image above, which is inherently not electric (quite the opposite actually). However, thanks to Magna International’s new EtelligentTerrain EV powertrain system, 4WD combustion vehicles like Jeeps will soon be able to tear up muddy terrain without any emissions. I recently got invited to Mt. Magna in Michigan, where I tested the new EV powertrain system, climbed the mountain, and sprayed mud EVERYWHERE. Watch me go below.
Magna International is a globally recognized automotive contract manufacturer that currently reigns as the largest in North America and the fourth largest on the planet. It currently operates over 130 production and assembly facilities across North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa, showing no signs of slowing down, recording $4.652 billion in gross profits for 2022 and well on its way to surpassing that number in 2023.
The past year, we’ve seen Magna commit to nearly a billion dollars invested in its North American operations, including $470 million in Canada, where it’s globally headquartered, in addition to another $500 million in Michigan, where its US headquarters sits.
Last week, I got the opportunity to visit the company’s HQ in Troy, Michigan, where the team took me out to its Mt. Magna terrain park, and I got the chance to explore new and developing EV technologies and make quite a delightful mess while doing so.
Magna turned a Jeep Gladiator into a sweet off-road EV
On the first half of the day with Magna on its home turf, I visited the renowned Mt. Magna in Southeast Michigan. This was a very different experience from my visit to Magna last year, where we towed 10,000 pounds of cargo around a track at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac.
The focus of this trip was, of course, electrification but also new technology Magna has integrated into four-wheel drive vehicles to deliver powerful and effective BEV conversions. Example A is the Jeep Gladiator prototype, featuring Magna’s EtelligentTerrain powertrain system.
The new system combines Magna’s eBEAM technology into a dual-motor configuration designed to electrify sport and light-utility vehicles for both on and off-road situations. Here’s an all-electric Jeep Gladiator featuring the system ripping up Mt. Magna without issue.
Magna’s EtelligentTerrain system consists of a steerable eBEAM motor (Mid) in the front, complete with a remote inverter (no room up front for it in the Jeep) and a 2-in-1 offset on the axle to make room for the EV’s steering column. The front also features a disconnect unit and park-lock capabilities, perfect for climbs like the one seen above.
Unlike the front powertrain, the rear axle eBEAM (High) is coaxial and has an integrated inverter since there’s a lot more space. It comes with a higher gross axle weight rating (GAWR) compared to the front (5,000 pounds vs. 3,000 pounds) but delivers significantly more power and torque.
In the case of the Jeep Gladiator, Magna utilizes an 83 kWh battery pack, but a production model would definitely see a larger battery. The truck was equipped with third-party QuadLink-Coil spring/solid axle suspension in the front and back to handle the higher weight of the battery pack while keeping the Gladiator as close as possible to its standard model ride height.
After summiting Mt. Magna, I got the opportunity to do some burnouts in the fresh mud after an entire night of thunderstorms. Who am I to say no? Since there are virtually no off-road BEVs aside from Rivian, my experience in the dirt has been limited, and it shows. After my first run, I forgot I was still in reverse, so when I tried my second burnout, I was able to showcase how effective the brakes on Magna’s EV prototype are. Have a laugh with me:
Whoops!
Shoutout to Ben Sanders for capturing my mistake and the correct mud-inducing burnout that ensued:
Just like I wrote it up.
Magna’s EtelligentTerrain EV system will not be sold retail but instead will only be available to OEMs that are perhaps looking to electrify existing Class 1 chassis. The dual motor system and its ability to include the inverter on the axle or remotely offers flexibility for a number of vehicle implementations. It paired quite well with the Jeep Gladiator, in my opinion, so why not make that one a full EV?
We know Magna has already committed to helping INEOS build 4×4 EVs, so perhaps we will see this technology in those upcoming models in the next few years.
Magna International is showing once again why it’s one of the most trusted in the business. It not only builds reliable, cutting-edge components, but it also continues to research and develop new ways to make vehicles safer, more efficient, and now, more sustainable. All while still delivering the capability to carve your name in cursive in a muddy field somewhere.
I’ll have more Magna EV innovations from my visit to share soon, so stay tuned.
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After years of waiting and many false starts, Formula E is finally going to debut its mid-race charging system, which will give cars a quick boost of energy charging at a rate much faster than current road cars can.
For years now, we’ve been hearing about FIA plans to introduce charging stops to electric racing.
In gas car racing, some series allow mid-race fueling and some don’t. The World Endurance Championship, which runs the 24 Hours of Le Mans, obviously needs to fill up several times during the race. But Formula 1, which hosts shorter races, eliminated mid-race fueling in 2010.
Plans to bring mid-race charging to Formula E started in 2021, when the FIA started kicking around plans for an Electric GT racing series with 700kW charging.
But the FIA already had one electric racing series, Formula E, which had debuted in 2014. At the time, each driver had two cars, and would swap mid-race to a fresh car with new batteries.
Battery-swapping had been considered, but it would be too complicated to set up at temporary race facilities in city downtown areas, as many Formula E tracks are.
Then, in 2018, Formula E debuted a new “Gen 2” car which had a big enough battery not to need a charge mid-race, and later a “Gen 3” car in 2022, which had much stronger regenerative braking, capable of 600kW of braking power. Gen 3 also has an “Attack Mode” feature that lets cars unlock additional power for a short period each race, adding to strategy and mixing up the race order.
That 600kW charging ability could also be used for mid-race charging, so Formula E said that it was working on a system to allow for this. It announced that mid-race charging would come at some point in the 2023 season, but then pushed back those plans until 2024, and pushed them back again, this time with an uncertain date.
The issues involved building the charging system in temporary facilities and ensuring safety of the system (and of pit stops in general, which is always a concern when cars are driving rapidly near people). But after winter testing prior to this season, Formula E now says the system is ready to go.
So, once again, Formula E is ready to announce that mid-race charging is definitely, totally, positively, 100% certain at the upcoming Jeddah E-Prix, on February 14-15 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Formula E thinks that proving this high-power charging technology could help road cars to charge more quickly, which could have myriad benefits for electric cars in general.
The series is calling the system “Pit Boost,” and it will consist of a 34-second pit stop that provides around 10% additional charge to the cars (about 4kWh). While 10% isn’t a lot, 34 seconds is also not a lot of time. For comparison, one of the fastest-charging cars out there, the Ioniq 5, can charge from 10-80% in 18 minutes, which means 10% charge takes 2.5 minutes – five times as long as Formula E cars will manage the feat.
The stop will be mandatory for all drivers to take at some point in the race, and will mean new strategy options for drivers. Taking the stop means getting more energy, which means that your car won’t have to do as much energy saving to get to the end of the race – but it also means giving up your position on track, which can be hard to get back if you do it late in the race.
However, we’ve never seen it happen before, so it will be interesting to see what kind of strategic options develop.
If you’re interested in seeing how it turns out, tune in to the Jeddah E-Prix on February 14-15 to see what happens. It’s a doubleheader race weekend, with night races both on Saturday and Sunday, February 14-15, at 5pm UTC, 9am PST, 12pm EST, and 8pm local time. You can check out how to watch the race in your area by going to Formula E’s “Ways to Watch” section. In the US, Roku should be the most reliable way to watch.
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JackRabbit, the maker of pint-sized electric microbikes, is back with a new product designed to quickly recharge their batteries from pure, uncut photons mainlined into an e-bike directly from the sun. In true independent charging form, the Solar Charging Kit from JackRabbit keeps riders rolling even when there’s not a convenient AC outlet in sight.
Unveiled this week, the Solar Charging Kit consists of a single folding solar panel and a tiny voltage converter that is configured to output 42.0V, which is the exact voltage required by JackRabbit’s little e-bike batteries. There’s also an added USB-A and a USB-C charging port for powering other devices in addition to charging JackRabbit batteries.
“This Solar Charging Kit plugs directly into your bike,” explained the company, “letting you recharge without needing an outlet, but with a speed comparable to the charger that comes with the OG/OG2 (42V, 2A).”
That would mean the panel outputs around 80W of solar power, which the company says can recharge its batteries in just three hours. That fairly quick recharging speed is helped by the fact that JackRabbit’s batteries are a mere 151 Wh, or around a third of the size of most e-bike batteries.
If that sounds small, then you’re right – it is. But JackRabbit is all about going micro, offering barely 25 lb rideables that are easy to store and bring on adventures, even when they aren’t actually being ridden.
With small batteries that fit under the 160Wh limit for many airlines in the US, the batteries can be quickly charged and taken to the widest number of locations. And for riders that want to go further than a single 10-mile (16-km) battery will allow, extra batteries are small enough to fit a pants pocket. The company also offers much larger Rangebuster batteries, though they won’t pass by TSA and make it onto an airplane in your personal item.
It sounds like the Solar Chargking Kit should be able to charge up JackRabbit’s large RangeBuster batteries, though likely in more than three hours.
The $349 Solar Charging Kit is a bit pricier than building something similar yourself, but it’s also safer and more convenient than hacking together your own battery charger since it’s designed to work with JackRabbit’s batteries right out of the box.
Technically it’s only inteded for JackRabbit’s micro e-bikes (themselves technically seated scooters, even if they look and feel more like a typical bike), but it’d probably work for just about any 36V e-bike that requires 42.0V to charge.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen solar charging kits for electric bikes, and it’s a trend that is certainly appreciated by outdoors and camping enthusiasts, festival goers, or anyone who finds themself and their bike spending extended periods in the great, sunny outdoors.
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