New Models
New Models

Land Rover Defender-inspired Ineos Grenadier spied testing

Hardcore four-wheel-drive enthusiasts could soon have a tough choice to make, with a new alternative on the horizon.


Do not adjust your eyes, this is not an old Land Rover Defender dressed in a disguise.

The box-shaped heavy duty four-wheel-drive in these spy photos is called the Ineos Grenadier – and it's coming to Australia.

The name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but hardcore four-wheel-drive enthusiasts may want to take note.

Series development of the all-new 4X4 is being undertaken by independent manufacturer Magna-Steyr in Austria, who is also responsible for assembling the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

Information supplied by Ineos says "around 100 engineers" are working on the Grenadier project.

Many details surrounding the Grenadier are yet to be announced, but we have been told the no-frills 4X4 is coming to Australia. It's pencilled in to be on-sale in 2021.

If you haven't heard of the name before, don't worry. Ineos is primarily a chemical company, and the Grenadier is their first foray into vehicle development and manufacture.

"Projekt Grenadier" comes from Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who also happens to be the founder and CEO of $6.85 billion chemical and gas giant Ineos.

The story goes that Ratcliffe was discussing the demise of Land Rover's original 4X4 with mates at a country pub named The Grenadier. Soon, a gap in the market was identified.

“(The original Defender ending production) left a serious hole in the marketplace and we are going to plug that gap,” said Mr Ratcliffe in a press release.

Mark Tennant, Ineos Automotive commercial director told the Bloomberg news agency the Grenadier will appeal to those who prefer the old Defender over the new one : “We don’t see the new Defender as being in the same space,”  “What we’re doing is a bit utilitarian. It’s a bit like Marmite – it won’t be for everyone.”

What we do know is that the Grenadier will run many traditional off-road components like a ladder chassis, live axles (sourced from Italian company Carraro), panhard rods and coil springs.

While the old Defender used a live axle with radius arms up front (something shared by many other old-school 4WDs), the Grenadier appears to have adopted upper and lower control arms, along with a panhard rod.

Like the Defender, a station wagon will be followed by utility body styles, along with short and long wheelbase options.

It is unclear if the Grenadier uses any chassis parts bought under licence from Land Rover, or if indeed this is unique ground-up design.

From promotional videos published by Ineos, it appears that the Grenadier has a different chassis and suspension designs to Land Rover's old Defender and Mercedes' old G-Wagen, which indicates it could be a bespoke platform for Ineos.

Engines are said to come from BMW, with four and six cylinder, petrol and diesel options on the table.

The Grenadier's silhouette is similar to a Land Rover Defender 110, whilst also very reminiscent of older Mercedes G-Class 4X4s, such as the flat windscreen, round headlights and clamshell bonnet.

No amount of camouflage could hide those boxy dimensions and short overhangs, all which lend themselves to a 4X4 with strong off-road performance.

Ineos has secured a facility to build the Grenadier in Bridgend, Wales, which is already under construction. Bodies and frames are slated to be sourced from two new factories in Estarreja, Portugal. You can expect to see the final product revealed by the end of 2020.

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Sam Purcell

Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures.

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