View Photos of the INEOS Grenadier

The INEOS Grenadier is an SUV that has been (very obviously) inspired by the classic Land Rover Defender.

The impetus (and cash) for the project comes from Jim Ratcliffe, a British billionaire who controls the vast INEOS chemical group. He mourned the passing of the classic Defender so much that he ordered the creation of a new car very obviously inspired by it.

The Grenadier may well be the first production vehicle to be named after an English pub. The original plan for the car was hatched at The Grenadier in Belgravia, London.

INEOS fought a legal battle with Jaguar Land Rover over the Grenadier’s design, which JLR reckoned was too close to that of the classic Defender. As you can see, INEOS won that one.

The Grenadier is designed for off-road capability rather than on-road refinement with a separate ladder frame and live axles front and rear.

.S.-bound Grenadiers will be powered by a BMW-sourced turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six making 281 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. Other markets will be offered a 3.0-liter diesel as well.

The transmission is the familiar ZF eight-speed automatic, mated to a two-speed transfer case. A lockable center differential will be standard, with electronically locking front and rear differentials an option.

Our drive in the prototype was limited to the mud of a spoil heap at a former French coal mine.

U.S. deliveries are planned to begin in 2023, with INEOS working to establish a 50-state dealer network to support the car. Pricing will be confirmed later this year.