Curiously Bollinger-Like EV Rolls Out from UK Startup Munro

• Scottish electric SUV aims for global sales—including in the United States.

• The Munro Mk1 uses a single-motor drivetrain with traditional a 4x4 transmission.

• The startup automaker claims the Mk1 turns out up to 375 hp in top-spec form and return 186 miles of range.

Scotland is well known for many things: the caterwauling harmonies of the bagpipes, the more melodious sensation of a good Scotch whisky—and the nation’s life-limiting enthusiasm for deep-frying pretty much all types of food, most famously the Mars Bar. But cars haven’t been on the list of Scottish achievements for a long time, with the country’s last auto plant, the former Chrysler factory in Linwood, closing in 1981. No models have been produced in volume in Scotland since then.

Now a new EV startup has ambitions for a Caledonian car-building renaissance. Munro is named after the term for a Scottish hill or mountain over 3000 feet in altitude, and has shown an innovative single-motor electric SUV that is claimed to combine zero tailpipe emissions with go-anywhere utility. The aim is to build a working vehicle, one suited for agriculture, forestry, and mining. The company acknowledges that something so rugged and eco-focused is likely to also have a strong appeal to lifestyle buyers.

Munro’s first product is the MK1, which you are seeing here in the form of a production-intent prototype. It works, but it’s definitely not finished yet—don’t get too sniffy about the variable door apertures and only partially finished interior. The styling is the work of a young Brit called Ross Compton who, you might not be entirely surprised to hear looking at his creation, formerly worked for Bollinger. There is a strong hint of the B1 SUV in the MK1’s bluff lines and flat front end, but also elements of both the original Land Rover Defender and Tesla’s much-delayed Cybertruck.

Unlike most concepts, this one isn’t designed to look pretty—which is probably just as well—rather to prove how something very similar could be put into production. Beyond the EV powertrain itself, the MK1’s engineering is thoroughly traditional, much of it clearly inspired from the time when SUVs were just UVs. It has a steel ladder frame, aluminum bodywork, and live axles at both ends. These are driven by a two-speed transfer case, which in turn is powered by the centrally mounted electric motor. Think of it as an old-fashioned 4x4 powertrain that just happens to be an EV.