The Ineos Grenadier Is Coming

When Sir Jim (Sir James to you lot) Radcliffe wanted to continue the classic Land Rover Defender that was being discontinued, Land Rover declined the offer. Undeterred, he decided to build his own replacement. In conjunction with Magna Steyr in Austria, they came up with a new vehicle. Initial production will be of a 5-door wagon, with a pick up truck to follow and other variants in due course. Break even point is 25,000 units per annum. The name is the Ineos Grenadier.

A factory is being built in Portugal to make the chassis and another in Wales for final assembly*. Suppliers have been sought from various parts of Europe, including engines from BMW. The design has now been released, with sales targeted to start the beginning of 2022. Dealers need to be organised although the idea is to sell directly as much as possible. Service agents will definitely be needed either way.

I like the idea of going out to achieve your dream but there will be challenges. 25,000 sales may sound minimal but starting from scratch and reaching such a goal with a new brand will be a tough ask. With the work yet to be done through testing parts and the car itself all takes time. I would suggest it may not be ready for the time they have targeted. The design looks very much like the Land Rover Defender but a court ruled against JLR'a attempt to trademark the shape, so that is not a barrier.

Getting the original would have been so much easier, cheaper and quicker but I could see why Land Rover wanted to end the old Defender, so that the new one was the focus. At least this way, improvements could be made on the old Defender. It will arrive late enough not to detract from the new Defender which is now coming to a Land Rover dealership near you, if not already there.

*Ineos is now eyeing the smart factory in Hambach, France for final assembly.

Classic, rugged look of a serious off road vehicle

Unusual rear tail lights but not out of place

A future pick-up variant

Pictures: Ineos