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  • Drew Dowdell
    Drew Dowdell

    By Drew Dowdell •

    We Think Lincoln is Getting this 974-horsepower EV Unit from Magna

      Someone just contracted Magna to build a 974 horsepower rear axle eDrive unit.

    In a vague press release today, automobile supplier Magna announced they have signed a contract with a North American based vehicle manufacturer to produce a high-power, electrified, rear-drive unit for a high-end vehicle at an unnamed brand, with production commencing "in the next couple of years".  While details of the vehicle are cagey, there are some clues as to where the drive unit might end up.

    Based on Magna's eDS Duo, the unit will utilize 800v architecture and be capable of roughly 974 horsepower and a mind-blowing 5,900 lb-ft of torque. Comprised of 2 motors, 2 gearboxes, and 2 inverters, the drive unit is built to be placed at the rear axle, but unlike Magna's eBeam unit, is set up for an independent rear suspension.  This tells us that the Magna contract is for a luxury, full-size product with rear-drive and a need for high and low range.

    From here, we can speculate:

    It's unlikely that General Motors needs such a unit as they already have the Hummer products in production, and the Escalade IQ has already been announced, so there would be no need for Manga to be circumspect about the announcement. Ditto Tesla, the CyberTruck is already in production and wouldn't need this announcement.

    The Stellantis STLA-Large platform is 800-volt capable, and Ram has recently been talking about adding hybrid options to the Ram 1500 series line-up over and above the RAM 1500 REV. However, we don't think a Ram 1500 would get an independent rear suspension.   Could it be for an EV Grand Wagoneer? We think if Stellantis is the customer in this case, a Grand Wagoneer EV is the most likely recipient.

    We think Lincoln is the most likely recipient at this point. Ford's EV platform is not yet 800-volt capable. However, they are hard at work on the next generation of their EV platforms.  With the rest of the industry coalescing around 800-volt architecture, we think it is unlikely that they won't go there also.  Additionally, the crosstown rival Cadillac, with their new Escalade IQ, could be making Lincoln green with envy.  Additionally, while building components in-house might make sense for a higher-volume model like the Ford F-150 Lightning, a lower-volume vehicle such as a Lincoln Navigator EV would make sense to outsource components to Magna for.  Magna and Ford have a long-standing partnership, with Magna even setting up shop at some of Ford's facilities in Michigan. Magna already provides a significant amount of components to the F-150 Lightning. The timing sounds right for Lincoln.  In May of 2021, Lincoln announced they would be working on a Navigator EV, but no date was set for release. It would also match with the product cadence at Ford for the 2026-2027 time frame.

    What do you think? Which U.S. manufacturer needs a low-volume, high-power, rear-drive EV unit for a luxury product?

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    G. David Felt

    Totally can see this as a Lincoln Navigator EV. I wonder what they will do to make it an AWD unit.

    Good chance that a full-size SUV could have the room underneath for two of these bad boys, so you have a near 2,000 hp and 11,000 plus lb.-ft of torque. That would be a crazy awesome SUV EV.

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    Drew Dowdell
    10 minutes ago, David said:

    Totally can see this as a Lincoln Navigator EV. I wonder what they will do to make it an AWD unit.

    Good chance that a full-size SUV could have the room underneath for two of these bad boys, so you have a near 2,000 hp and 11,000 plus lb.-ft of torque. That would be a crazy awesome SUV EV.

    This unit is specifically for the rear axle location. Here's my further speculation as to why Lincoln would go this way.

    Ford already has a front unit ready for the Lightning. They don't need a second design, and the unit from the F-150 Lightning would be fine as the lower power front unit for cruising speed in a Navigator, this is done for efficiency.  Also, keep in mind that a Navigator is not a Hummer. While 2,000 horsepower would be neat, it's not really the target demographic that would be more concerned with range. A Navigator owner would sniff and say "Anything over 900 hp is sufficient. I need the range to get me to the Country Club and back."

    The total horsepower of the current F-150 Lightning's combined units is lower than this single unit.  The Lightning's rear unit is set up for independent rear suspension and the drive unit there looks a heck of a lot like this one above.

    Even though the drive unit might be capable of 972 horsepower, I think it is likely that Lincoln would govern that to a lower top end for range preservation purposes. The Escalade IQ is rated for 750 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque in Velocity Max mode.  Expect the Lincoln crew to tune it in such a way as to beat Cadillac either on range or max power, if not both.  Range is largely dictated by battery size, and Cadillac is already going to need people to send in their old iPhones just to keep up with the battery needs of that beast.

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    smk4565

    That's actually too much power I think for the rear axle because you'd have to have a front motor would a few hundred horsepower for all wheel drive.  I heavy SUV with even 700 hp, let alone 900 will go through a set of tires every 5,000 miles.  But everyone wants to win the EV horsepower wars and have 1,000+ hp.

    Hopefully the horsepower wars end soon and they put their effort into developing lighter weight and lower cost batteries.  Ford has an almost 8 month supply of Mach-E's sitting on dealer lots right now.  They don't need bigger, more powerful, more expensive EV's, they need cheaper ones.

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    smk4565

    I did read that Ford is working on a low cost EV platform.  That is what they really need, because you need volume to make EV's work, and you can't get volume with $100,000+ products.

     

    What about domestic built SUVs?  The BMW X7, Volvo XC90, Toyotas, Mercedes GLS are made in the USA, Stellantis makes SUVs in the USA.  But Toyota or Volvo would never put that kind of power in anything, and Mercedes is going to axial flux motors, and ditching the radial motors it seems, so that rules them out.

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    G. David Felt

    Reviewing Magna press release, I missed their CES press release of their all new 800V eDrive unit that can be used as a primary unit or as a secondary unit to any of their other 800V drive units.

    At 250 kW / 5000 Nm which is 335 HP / 3688 lb-ft of torque this could make a very complimentary front AWD unit to this for Lincoln.

    Magna Unveils Next Generation eDrive at CES 2024

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    Drew Dowdell
    15 hours ago, smk4565 said:

    I did read that Ford is working on a low cost EV platform.  That is what they really need, because you need volume to make EV's work, and you can't get volume with $100,000+ products.

     

    What about domestic built SUVs?  The BMW X7, Volvo XC90, Toyotas, Mercedes GLS are made in the USA, Stellantis makes SUVs in the USA.  But Toyota or Volvo would never put that kind of power in anything, and Mercedes is going to axial flux motors, and ditching the radial motors it seems, so that rules them out.

    Yeah, but none of those companies are domestic-based, as the Magna release states.  The only other option could be Rivian, but I don't see them going that way either.

    Ford is undoubtedly working on a lower-cost EV platform.  This is being farmed out to Magna because they don't want to commit resources to something so low volume as a Navigator EV.

    15 hours ago, David said:

    Reviewing Magna press release, I missed their CES press release of their all new 800V eDrive unit that can be used as a primary unit or as a secondary unit to any of their other 800V drive units.

    At 250 kW / 5000 Nm which is 335 HP / 3688 lb-ft of torque this could make a very complimentary front AWD unit to this for Lincoln.

    Magna Unveils Next Generation eDrive at CES 2024

    Again, it is unlikely that Ford needs such a unit from Magna.  Manufacturers will only go out to Magna for this stuff when it is lower volume so they don't have to develop it themselves.

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