Described as the car for people who are lamenting the demise of the original Land Rover Defender, the all-new Grenadier has been unveiled to the British public.
The first images of the chunky 4x4 from Ineos Automotive was revealed this week, with the press release being honest enough to describe it as “no-nonsense 4x4 for the world”.
There’s no escaping the similarities between the Grenadier and the old-style Defender, and perhaps that’s why the design and look of the Ineos vehicle has been released so early, the Grenadier will not go into production until 2022.
Ineos owner and Grenadier project founder Jim Ratcliffe has long been an admirer of the original Defender, and even made an attempt to buy the tooling from Land Rover, before deciding to go it alone and producing their own version.
“The brief was simple. We set out to design a modern, functional and highly capable 4x4 vehicle with utility at its core”, said Toby Ecuyer, head of design. “A design that is ‘easy-to-read’, with no ambiguity about the Grenadier’s role in life. There to do everything you need, and nothing you don’t. Nothing is for show. Modern engineering and production techniques ensure the Grenadier is highly capable, but we have been able to stay true to the essence of creating a utilitarian vehicle that will stand the test of time.”
The Ineos five-door station wagon will be a similar size as the Mercedes G-Class and is likely to be in the same price range as the new-look Defender when it goes on sale in 2022.