This takes 4xe to a whole new level (in Gladiator), not so sure about it

[richk225]

This is from MotorTrend and I know it's not a 4xe Wrangler but it could soon be. Looking at it from behind makes me want to flag him down and tell him him his Jeep is falling apart because so much is hanging off of it. Enjoy the future.....
I have to admit I do like the picture of this super high tech unit sitting on a piece of plywood in the dirt


https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/...yimageid=f6508bcb-48a4-4e77-9ecd-8c3ecc7ee5d6

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/...rce=braze&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=print

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[The Last Cowboy]

I remember reading about those axles years ago, never thought they'd see the light of day. they are interesting.

 

[DewHawk]

Will we see Jeeps made like this? Nah. Jeep’s magneto concept makes this thing look like a hodgepodge of bs by comparison. Interesting idea, but I think converting portal axles into units with electric motors seems like a better idea than this. I know it’s probably not physically possible right now, but it’s a damn sight better than trying to justify this solution.

 

[azjl#3]

Hmmmm, me thinks it needs way more skid plates...

 

[PatriotX]

The F150 Lightning looks a bit like that.

This is a showcase for their standalone powered axle package, would be great for retrofits with little provision for electrification.

 

[richk225]

After watching the firefighters deal with an 4xe with the battery inside and all of the other EV vehicles I`d be careful stepping out into a puddle. They recently had a EV conversion on All Girls Garage and it was a new Volvo ev stuffed into a older Volvo wagon. Having to get your gloves pressure tested before working on something kinda takes the fun out of it

I wonder what the ground clearance isn't on the Gladiator? To me it just doesn't look right, more of a hey let's try and stick this under it and see what happens

 

[Kyanche]

I wonder what the ground clearance isn't on the Gladiator? To me it just doesn't look right, more of a hey let's try and stick this under it and see what happens

Well, yea, it's a prototype testbed for engineering models, not a production car lol.

 

[Red Willy]

Be sure to take a generator with you.

 

[DaltonGang]

No thank you.

 

[bobzdar]

All that extra unsprung weight will make it ride even worse...

 

[Pape]

Wow, talk about not understanding the target market.
This thing is not offroad friendly at all, what are gladiator and wrangler market to ?

 

[Bayrat]

It looks hideous.

 

[Jeep Wick]

Will we see Jeeps made like this? Nah. Jeep’s magneto concept makes this thing look like a hodgepodge of bs by comparison. Interesting idea, but I think converting portal axles into units with electric motors seems like a better idea than this. I know it’s probably not physically possible right now, but it’s a damn sight better than trying to justify this solution.

Mercedes has developed a new compact (axial flux) motor that would be ideal for this.

 

[richk225]

Maybe they plan on putting a set of 4 portals with 8" lift just like they do with the side by sides.
I think one car or truck company is going to get it right with long range and a price that is affordable and the others will be saying "Why didn't I think of that"

 

[Bzinsky]

I just want to clarify the importance of this thread.

For years now everybody has been talking about how jeep is going to bring to market an EV wrangler. I’ve literally been preaching it’s nearly impossible. EV’s revolve around efficiency. It is impossible using current EV tech to produce a full EV wrangler with a traditional drivetrain that basically defines the wrangler, which includes solid axles and lockable diffs.

The 4xe is the closest thing we have to a real wrangler drivetrain, and it gets the absolute worst range in the EV industry, 1.3 miles per kwh. If it had a massive 100kwh battery, it would get a pathetic 130 miles of range. You can’t have a dedicated EV with 130 miles of range. This happens because the electric motor in the 4xe has to go through the transmission, and then through diffs. This loss in efficiency through gear reduction affects both acceleration and then regen. There is no secret battery tech or motor tech to get around this. You have to ditch all the driveline components to make a viable EV. Or you can pull a hummer and install a 200+ kwh battery, make the vehicle 9klbs, which means it’ll be north of $100k.

Well before this thread no other EV came out with a viable solution to this wrangler EV problem, as they all used independent suspension.

Until I saw this thread, I had little hope a real wrangler would still exist 15 years from now.

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