Does the Land Rover Defender Have a Challenger in the New Ineos Grenadier?

The Ineos Grenadier came to be after Land Rover discontinued their Defender. The Grenadier will continue bringing the off-roading experience some Land Rover owners crave.
Written by Serena Aburahma
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
What do you do if the maker revamps your favorite
luxury car
into something you don't like? Well, if you're a billionaire whose company already employs plenty of engineers, you start from scratch and build a vehicle you want to drive.
Thus, the Ineos Grenadier will roll off the assembly line this summer with customer orders already pouring in for those looking to meet the off-road challenges formerly served by the Land Rover Defender.

How the Ineos Grenadier came to be

Jim Ratcliffe was crushed when he learned JLR would stop production of the Land Rover Defender in 2016 and retool the model to become a luxury SUV, ending a 68-year history that had produced more than 2 million of the off-road beasts,
MotorTrend
reports.
Ratcliffe reached out to Dirk Heilmann, then an engineering and technology manager at Ineos, the global chemical company Ratcliffe founded in 1998. Heilmann's challenge was to build a replacement for the Defender, which birthed the new Ineos Automotive, which Heilmann now serves as CEO.
Ineos brought together engineers from top automotive companies, purchased a freshly retooled factory in France from Mercedes Benz, and in February rolled out the first production model of the Ineos Grenadier.
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About the Ineos Grenadier

MORE: 2021 Land Rover Defender: Consumer Reports Has a Long List of Drawbacks
Ineos will debut the Grenadier in July with only four-door models coming off the production lines to begin. The biggest seller is expected to be the five-seat Wagon designed for civilian use.
Ineos also will produce two commercial models — a five-seat Utility with the rear seat moved forward to increase cargo space and a two-seat Utility with no rear seating. Steel panels will replace the rear quarter window on the commercial models.
The first models will be built on a 115-inch wheelbase with a solid steel frame. They will be offered with a 3.0-liter straight-six turbocharged engine, either in 281-hp gasoline or 245-hp diesel versions. 
An eight-speed automatic transmission will drive all four wheels with a Tremec two-speed transfer case. Steel or alloy wheels will be offered in 17 or 18-inch variations.
Ineos hasn't shared information on future models, but MotorTrend reported a crew-cab pickup is in development with an extended wheelbase of 127 inches and a long overhang. 
The company also is expected to produce a chassis-cab style that will allow after-market additions, such as camper bodies or aluminum beds. The company has offered no word on a two-door variant, but MotorTrend says that wouldn't require too much engineering to shorten the wheelbase for such a model.

How much will a Grenadier cost?

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Ineos hasn't announced any pricing for the new Grenadier at this time, but speculation has been around $51,000 for the two-seat Utility model with a high-end topping out at $130,000 with all the bells and whistles.
Ineos is expected to produce about 32,000 vehicles a year through the new factory. The company reportedly had 15,000 expressions of interest by February after showing off the production models. About a quarter of that interest was coming from the United States.
Ineos also is working to develop a network of dealers to stock the new models when they roll off the production line.

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