The BMW-Powered Ineos 'Defender Successor' Has Been Spied

A prototype for the 'Land Rover Defender successor' devised by chemical giant Ineos has been spotted testing
The BMW-Powered Ineos 'Defender Successor' Has Been Spied

The new Land Rover Defender isn’t really a direct replacement for the old one. It’s incredibly capable off-road, of course, but the SUV is no longer intended to be a hardy, simplistic workhorse. With a big increase in luxury and refinement, its remit is now much broader.

But what if you’re not interested in the fripperies and want something with more focus? A chemical company, of all things, is claiming it has the answer.

The BMW-Powered Ineos 'Defender Successor' Has Been Spied

Ineos announced an automotive offshoot and its first product - codenamed ‘Projekt Grenadier’ - back in 2017 amid ambitious claims and a colourful story about chairman Jim Ratcliffe coming up with the idea in a London pub (from which the endeavour took its name). Fast forward to today, though, the project looks to be progressing well.

These new shots - taken by a spy photographer so dedicated they were happy to hide in foliage, it seems - gives us our first look at a Grenadier prototype. They were taken in Graz, Austria in the vicinity of Magna Steyr, the company which will do the bulk of the development work.

The BMW-Powered Ineos 'Defender Successor' Has Been Spied

Magna is an ideal company to be involved with for something like this - the firm has been responsible for the production of the first and second-generation Mercedes G-Glass, and developed Merc’s all-wheel drive system.

Power will come from a BMW-sourced ‘B58’ turbocharged inline-six, giving the Grenadier a curious (if tenuous) link to the original Defender. Back when Land Rover was under Munich’s control, the Defender was offered in South Africa with an M52 straight-six.

The BMW-Powered Ineos 'Defender Successor' Has Been Spied

Production of the Grenadier will be taken care of by a new facility currently being built in Bridgend, Wales. Sales should begin early next year.

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Comments

Nishant Dash

BMW is giving out B58s like it’s a clearance sale lol

06/08/2020 - 12:59 |
22 | 0

Oprah be like: “You get a B58, you get a B58, you in the back, you get a B58, screw it, everyone gets a B58!”

06/08/2020 - 20:23 |
4 | 0

I don’t mind
The B58 is a good engine

06/09/2020 - 06:47 |
2 | 0
Elliot.J99

“iTs NoT a ReAl DeFeNdEr!!!!!!!!!”

06/08/2020 - 13:32 |
2 | 2
ClassicPorsche

Clearly by “successor” they mean “exact copy”. I love the defender but this just looks like an old 110 with camo on - is it really a tribute if it’s the same?

06/08/2020 - 14:49 |
6 | 0

It’s not the same - have a look at the Grenadier website - it looks a lot more sophisticated, eg chassis/suspension, than the old Defender but still designed to be rugged and hopefully more reliable.

06/08/2020 - 17:10 |
2 | 0

Ironic coming from somebody with a Porsche 911 profile pic

06/08/2020 - 22:45 |
6 | 0
Dan Buckley

Very good, I see the back door doesn’t shut properly, they really have thought of everything!

06/08/2020 - 16:29 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

If you expect much more reliable engine, just use an Isuzu engine like on those Land Rover Perentie

06/18/2020 - 05:32 |
0 | 0