The original Defender is dead, long live the Ineos Grenadier! Production of the off-roader, which looks so similar to the British veteran, will start in just over a year. Prototypes were now being used for test drives in Styria, on Graz’s local mountain, Schöckl. The test track of construction partner Magna Steyr has been located there for more than 60 years.
In the second test phase, more than 130 prototypes of the Grenadier will cover two million kilometers in the most difficult areas of the world, from the cold of Scandinavia to the American Valley of Death and the sand dunes of the Middle East. Magna Steyr’s test site has already shaped the Puch Pinzgauer, but of course also the Mercedes G-Class and the Puch G.
The development of the Grenadier (the name comes from Ratcliffe’s favorite pub) was started by Jim Ratcliffe, head of the chemical giant Ineos and richest man in Great Britain, when the Land Rover Defender was discontinued in its original form.
From old grist and grain
While the British Defender has now become a very comfortable SUV – albeit still with outstanding off-road properties – the Ineos Grenadier more or less adopts the old concept, if you will: ladder frame, rigid axles and all-wheel drive with all kinds of locks and plenty of ground clearance. The engines will be provided by BMW, gasoline and diesel, the eight-speed automatic comes from ZF.
The design is essentially the same as the old Defender, but there are small, subtle differences in the details. The tailgate is asymmetrically split in two, the spare wheel is attached to the larger wing. And instead of the narrow skylights on the side edge of the roof, there are railings that allow cargo to be lashed to the roof.
Development by Magna Steyr
Magna Steyr is developing the Grenadier to series production, it will be built in the former Smart factory in Hambach, Alsace, which Ratcliffe bought from Daimler. Production is scheduled to start in July next year. Originally, production in Hambach should start at the end of 2021. However, as a result of Corona and the lockdowns and their effects on the supplier market, the schedule had to be adjusted.