INEOS · 2022–present

Ineos Grenadier

The Ineos Grenadier is an off-road utility vehicle designed and produced by Ineos Automotive. It went into production in October 2022. The Grenadier was designed to be a modern replacement for the original Land Rover Defender, with boxy bodywork, a steel ladder chassis, beam axles with long-travel progressive-rate coil spring suspension (front and rear), and powered by a petrol BMW B58 or diesel BMW B57 inline six turbocharged engine.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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History

Ineos Automotive Ltd was founded by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of the multinational chemicals company Ineos. Ratcliffe came up with the idea of building a replacement for his Land Rover Defender and approached Jaguar Land Rover to buy the tooling to continue production after the original model ceased at Solihull after 67 years in January 2016, but the firm declined. Ratcliffe later decided to initiate a project to design and build a similar vehicle under the codename Project Grenadier. The vehicle is named after Ratcliffe's favourite pub, The Grenadier, in Belgravia, London, where the initial idea was considered, and where a promotional presentation was shown. Comparing this project to James Dyson's plan to build an electric car in Singapore, which was cancelled in October 2019, writing off £500 million of his own money, an industry insider commented "If JLR, which made the Defender for 70 years, is struggling, then that's an indicator of how tough it's going to be for a newcomer". The vehicle was proposed to be manufactured in Wales, but later confirmed to be made in France. Production started in July 2022 at the Ineos Automotive plant in Hambach, France. The first deliveries were made in December 2022. In March 2019, Ineos Automotive announced that it had entered into a powertrain technology partnership with BMW. It was announced in September 2019 that the Grenadier would be manufactured at a bespoke new manufacturing facility on a greenfield site in Bridgend, Wales. Ineos Automotive also confirmed that it would be investing in a sub-assembly plant in Estarreja, Portugal, for the Grenadier's body and chassis. In December 2019, Ineos Automotive announced the Austrian-based Magna Steyr as its engineering partner for the development of the Grenadier. This partnership w

Design

While the Grenadier is not a direct replica of a Land Rover Defender (it uses none of the original tooling or componentry), Toby Ecuyer made it clear that their mission was specifically to build a modern Defender, saying it was a 'massive shame' that the outgoing Defender was ceasing production. In an interview with Autocar UK, he explained that their mission initially began with trying to do just that. "We thought, well, we’ll replace it. Then we thought, let’s build a better one, something that doesn’t leak and is comfortable. After all, this isn’t 1948. We can move on." Speaking on how they would modernise the Defender's design he stated "That was when we started collecting similar vehicles – Bronco, Pajero, G-Wagen, various Jeeps – to see how other manufacturers had done it". At the online launch, Toby Ecuyer, head of design at Ineos Automotive, said: "We had Jeeps, Land Rovers, Toyota Hiluxes, a Toyota Land Cruiser, Nissan Patrols, Ford Broncos. And we looked at vans, lorries, Unimogs, military vehicles, tractors. African-spec vehicles were particularly interesting. They all shaped our plan for a vehicle that would be extremely capable but also very honest and uncomplicated". The exterior design of the Grenadier was shown to the public for the first time in an online launch on 1 July 2020. At the launch Ratcliffe 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". Steve Cropley, editor-in-chief at Autocar said "The result is a simple, well-proportioned and familiar-looking off-roader." Ecuyer hoped that none of the inevitable discussion of th

Future versions

=== Electric version === An electric model is scheduled to enter production in 2026, to be developed with the Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna International, which already builds vehicles for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and the startup Fisker Inc. This Grenadier will be built in a factory in Graz, Austria, that already builds electric SUVs for Jaguar and Fisker. Fuel cell version. Tennant said that internal combustion engines were best for "rough, tough jobs", and pointed out the need for good range and autonomy in remoter parts of the world, with hydrogen fuel cells part of the longer-term plan. Deploying a hydrogen supply chain could benefit Ineos, which produces 300,000–400,000 tonnes of hydrogen a year. Military version. Ineos are offering the Multi-Role Light Vehicle based on the Grenadier in response to the British Army's invitation to tender. Enhanced Protection Vehicle (EPV). Ineos have developed an up-armoured variant, with ballistic protection offered up to STANAG 4569 Level 2, along with suspended flooring to provide a measure of mine blast mitigation. Due to being heavier, the chassis used by the EPV variant features improved suspension.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name

Ineos Grenadier

Manufacturer

Ineos Automotive

Production

October 2022 – present

Assembly

France: Hambach (Smartville)

Designer

Toby Ecuyer (head of design)

Class

Full-size SUV, Full-size pickup truck (Quartermaster)

Body style

5-door SUV, 4-door pickup truck (Quartermaster)

Model years

2023–present

Layout

Front-engine, four-wheel drive

Engine

Petrol:, 3.0 L B58B30M0 I6 turbo, Diesel:, 3.0 L B57D30O0 I6 turbo

Transmission

ZF 8HP 8-speed automatic

Wheelbase

2922 mm, 3227 mm (Quartermaster)

Length

4856 mm, 5400 mm (Quartermaster)

Width

1930 mm, 1943 mm (Quartermaster)

Height

2036 mm, 2019 mm (Quartermaster)

Kerb weight

2644–2811 kg

sp

uk

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

• Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q85769409CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ineos_GrenadierCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1373854106 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ineos_Grenadier_1X7A6399.jpgCC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Alexander Migl · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Manufacturer website (link only) — https://ineosgrenadier.com/en/gb/Link only; no content copied · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.

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