The long-awaited Ineos Grenadier two-cab car will make its first (officially authorized) appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 13.
The load-carrying spinoff will be called the Grenadier Quartermaster, its makers further announced today.
The Quartermaster Ineos Grenadier is a big deal for the company’s Australian division – its fourth-largest market by sales so far.
The startup has just started shipping its Grenadier wagon to Australians after months of delays, but for many buyers, the dual-cab car is more desirable.
“The importance for the Australian market is huge… I think we also have something quite unique,” Ineos Automotive Asia Pacific boss Justin Hocevar told us last week, adding that more news about the vehicle was “closer”.
Well, the news is now here.
As various spy images have shown us, the Grenadier ute will have clear styling differences to mainstream dual-cabs like the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger – not to mention heavier-duty specs and a higher price – and should offer better loading and towing better than a boxy Jeep. Gladiators.
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Original Ineos
While the price will be closer to the larger range of American pickups entering the market, all of which offer solid towing credentials, the Grenadier should keep it covered for off-road capability – in terms of angle of attack, potential articulation, etc.
If anything, the Grenadier dual-cab ute shapes up as a more refined and modern rival to the dual-cab Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series – an agricultural vehicle that nonetheless offers the heavyweight capability that dominates rural Australia.
“We don’t have the legacy of their story, but we’ve certainly got a big investment in high-quality equipment and I think people have been really attracted to that,” claimed Mr Hocevar.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Toyota was forced to pause orders for the LC70 due to low production rates.
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Source: Ineos Grenadier Owners Club
“So I like to think that we have almost lived in between places in Thailand [sourced] and big American stuff now, and there’s not a lot of choice in the space we want to occupy. The network is very strong and ready for this vehicle, especially all the regional guys,” said Mr. Hocevar.
We obviously don’t know exactly how much the Grenadier ute will cost, but for context the station wagon opens at $98,000 for the base model with no options – meaning it’s likely to be a six-figure vehicle when on-road costs are factored in.
Expect the Grenadier pickup to share most of the same specs as the Grenadier wagon – engine, axles, front half panel, interior – but also offer a longer wheelbase and higher payload than the wagon’s stock 932kg maximum.
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Source: Ineos Grenadier Owners Australia
The Grenadier wagon – the ute is derived from the same platform – offers BMW-sourced inline-six diesel (183kW and 550Nm) and petrol (210kW and 450Nm) engines, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and 4×4 with a low-range engine.
It has Carraro beam axles at both ends suspended with five-link Eibach coilovers, box-section ladder chassis, permanent 4×4 with Tremec transfer cases, three differential locks, 3550kg gross vehicle mass and 3500kg towing capacity.
Background
Australia is one of the main global markets for the rugged Grenadier, considered by some to be a spiritual successor to the original Land Rover Defender.
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Grenadier Wagons
The Grenadier is the brainchild of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, billionaire British engineer and chairman of multinational petrochemical giant Ineos. No expense was spared for his passion project.
The official story says Ratcliffe was hanging out in London’s Grenadier pub in 2017, bemoaning Land Rover’s decision to kill off the old Defender and replace it with a new, more modern and luxurious SUV model when he decided to give the car a go.
Ineos Automotive Australia will be a factory operation rather than an independent distributor. The company has about 30 brand stores in Australia selling through a fixed-price agency model, including five in capital cities and 25 in regional hubs, reflecting Grenadier’s target audience.
Production of the Grenadiers was built at the old Mercedes-Benz factory in Hambach, France, which was bought by Ineos. Since 2019 the plant has received an A$770 million upgrade claim, funded by both Mercedes-Benz and Ineos.
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