Ineos Grenadier: why a chemical firm is creating a 'serious' off-roader

Ineos is confident that it will
 avoid running into legal problems with Land Rover, however. The positioning of the Grenadier, and the contrasting direction in which Land Rover’s own Defender is reportedly heading, are the reasons why. Both cars will doubtless come to market cracked up as the most capable 4x4 in the world – but with the Defender rumoured to be moving to aluminium monocoque construction and with increased technological complexity, Ratcliffe says Ineos will position its alternative as simpler, more traditional, robust and affordable. The Grenadier will be a car with a lightweight aluminium body, separate ‘ladder frame’ chassis, proper axle articulation, steel coil suspension and a choice of petrol, diesel and hybrid powertrains. 

“The Grenadier has three key strengths which we have to keep front of mind: design, capability and reliability,” explains Ratcliffe. 

“We don’t need to go beyond what a Defender has in terms of off-road capability, because there’s no need to; nothing does it better. Our challenge is to reproduce that capability in a vehicle that meets current global safety, conformity and emissions regulations. Above all, we must be sure not to soften the car for road use; that’s the way the majority of so-called off-roaders have gone and we must not accept compromises.” 

Ratcliffe explains that Ineos is applying a very detailed German-style engineering approach to the car, already working closely with tier-one component suppliers to redesign their existing off-the-shelf systems for greater robustness. Ineos also has ideas of ways in which it believes it can improve on the original Defender recipe. 

“Why Land Rover would have bothered with rust-proof aluminium bodywork and then not give the original car a galvanised steel chassis, I can’t fathom,” says Ratcliffe. “Britain had galvanised steel lamp posts at the turn of the 20th century! 

“Most Land Rover owners know that exposing your chassis to water makes it rot, but that’s also because the design of the ladder frame traps mud, which, in turn, traps moisture. 

“We can design our car to avoid those problems. And, while we’re at it, we can make it more comfortable, quieter, better laid out and better sealed than the Defender was; we can address all of the old bugbears."

However, he adds: “Design is the area where we’ll need to put in a lot of hard work, though." Ratcliffe is dismissive about a lot of modern automotive design, describing most of the cars he sees as “jelly moulds”. 

Who is James Ratcliffe? 

James Arthur Ratcliffe has a claim as one of the richest and most successful British post-war industrialists. 

A chemical engineering graduate in 1974, he studied business and finance before founding chemical engineering group Ineos in 1998, buying up unwanted and undervalued facilities for the company from the likes of BP and ICI and turning their fortunes around. Ratcliffe remains the group’s majority shareholder. In 2007, he edged out Sir Richard Branson for a spot in The Sunday Times Rich List of the top 10 UK billionaires.