A billionaire’s expensive act of revenge and a rebellion born over a pint
History has seen no shortage of ego projects, but few were born from defiance as pure as the INEOS Grenadier. When Jaguar Land Rover decided in 2016 to retire the old school Defender, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the British chemicals tycoon, did not see the end of an era. He took it as a personal insult. After failing to buy the rights to continue producing the Defender, the billionaire chose the more extravagant response. If nobody would sell him the toy, he would build a factory and make his own, this time properly.
What began in London’s Grenadier pub has now reached the stage where the marketing machine churns out a myth of rugged masculinity and indestructibility. Yet behind the polished campaigns sits something far less theatrical, a piece of engineering that is raw, uncompromising and almost wilfully hostile to modern, streamlined trends.
A Bavarian heart, Austrian discipline
INEOS did not try to reinvent the wheel in areas where others had already spent decades sweating over the details. Instead of developing its own engine, it knocked on BMW’s door. The result is an odd but capable hybrid of British stubbornness and German precision.
Under the bonnet sit BMW’s 3.0 litre straight six turbocharged engines. Both the petrol B58 and diesel B57 are paired with ZF’s famously robust eight speed automatic gearbox. The Grenadier itself rests on a heavy duty steel ladder frame and beam axles, an architecture designed to outlast its owner’s patience at the fuel pump.
The vehicle is not built in Britain at all, but in Hambach, France, at the former Smart factory. Development, meanwhile, was led by Magna Steyr in Austria, the same outfit that has done plenty to preserve the near mythical durability of the Mercedes Benz G Class.
Inside, the cabin is a love letter to physical buttons. Unlike modern smart cars, where finding the seat heating can require a trek through three sub menus, everything here can be operated even while wearing thick gloves. The switchgear gives the impression that you are piloting an attack aircraft rather than an ordinary road car.
The gap nobody else wanted
Ratcliffe’s strategy rests on a simple observation. Land Rover and much of the rest of the market have become too refined. The new Defender is a technological marvel, but repairing it in the middle of the Sahara would probably require an IT degree and a sterile workspace. The Grenadier is aimed at the roughly 35,000 customers worldwide who want a tool, not an accessory.
Even so, it remains a risky game. INEOS Automotive is burning through cash faster than the Grenadier burns fuel. Although the United States is the brand’s biggest market, accounting for about 60 per cent of sales, any attempt to break into the mainstream has stalled against production costs and steep tariffs. The Grenadier is not cheap. It is a luxury product for people who want to look as though they do not care about luxury.
Permanent four wheel drive and three locking differentials mean a bog or a snowstorm is little more than a light breakfast for this machine. On the other hand, the steering is very much tuned for off road use. It feels slow and demands constant correction on the motorway, which can become tiring rather quickly.
BMW running gear is a double edged sword too. It is dependable, certainly, but INEOS specific solutions mean this is not a vehicle that any random backstreet garage will be able to fix.
Is the INEOS Grenadier a rational purchase? Almost never. Is it an emotionally charged masterpiece of engineering? Absolutely.
