Meet the Ineos Grenadier, a spurned billionaire's revenge

This is the Ineos Grenadier, which is, in the words of its creator, "a capable, durable and reliable 4x4 designed and built to handle the world’s harshest environments". To those unfamiliar with INEOS, you probably would've seen this name plastered on Mercedes-AMG's F1 challengers. Essentially, Ineos is one of the biggest petrochemical companies in the world, so why did it create an automotive division?

Ineos is led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of Britain's richest individuals. Sir Jim is a big fan of Land Rover Defenders. So, when Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) ceased production of its iconic Defender model, Ratcliffe offered to buy over the production tooling (as well-heeled individuals would) to persumably continue producing the model he is rather fond of.

JLR politely told him to shove it, and thus began Sir Jim and Ineos' endeavour that resulted in the Grenadier. In Ratcliffe's words, he wants the Grenadier to be the 'spiritual successor' of the Defender. 

While it does bear more than a passing resemblence to the Defender, the Grenadier is built off its own bespoke platform for a rugged, capable and comfortable go-anywhere working vehicle.

The Grenadier's purpose is very simple, as Toby Ecuyer, Ineos' Head of Design, shares, "We set out to design a modern, functional and highly capable 4x4 vehicle with utility at its core“. A design that is ‘easy-to-read’, with no ambiguity about the Grenadier’s role in life". 

Combining rugged British spirit with German engineering rigour, the Grenadier will be a truly uncompromising 4x4 built from the ground-up. Engineered to overcome all conditions, it will provide best-in-class off-road capability, durability and reliability to those who depend on a vehicle as a working tool, wherever they are in the world.

Ratcliffe, who is Chairman of INEOS, said, “The Grenadier project started by identifying a gap in the market, abandoned by a number of manufacturers, for a utilitarian off-road vehicle. This gave us our engineering blueprint for a capable, durable and reliable 4x4 built to handle the world’s harshest environments"

The Grenadier is now in series development phase and prototype testing, supported by Magna Steyr, Ineos' engineering partner. The INEOS Grenadier will go into production in late-2021. So, if you wanted a Defender but can't buy one new, you now know where to look.