{"id":34197,"date":"2025-03-01T13:19:06","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T17:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=34197"},"modified":"2025-03-01T13:19:06","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T17:19:06","slug":"old-school-dirt-kicker-ineos-grenadier-arrives-in-michigan-to-take-on-land-rover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/old-school-dirt-kicker-ineos-grenadier-arrives-in-michigan-to-take-on-land-rover","title":{"rendered":"Old-school dirt-kicker Ineos Grenadier arrives in Michigan to take on Land Rover"},"content":{"rendered":"

Waterford<\/em>\u00a0Township<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Tesla Inc. has inspired a wave of electric vehicle startups in recent years, including Rivian Automotive Inc., Lucid Motors, Fisker Inc. and Bollinger Motors \u2014 all focused on bringing a new, electrified age to the U.S. market.<\/p>\n

British startup\u00a0Ineos Automotive<\/a>\u00a0is something completely different.<\/p>\n

The yin to Cybertruck\u2019s yang, Ineos\u2019 Grenadier SUV is an old-school, gas-fired dirt kicker. No jumbotron screens or battery skateboard here \u2014 just an all-terrain-tire-outfitted, ladder-frame SUV that can run through walls. Engineered in Austria, built in France and named after a London pub owned by the Ineos International petrochemical conglomerate, Ineos Grenadier has opened its first store with the Feldman Automotive Group here in Waterford Township to appeal to off-road enthusiasts who think Land Rover has gone soft.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
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The 2024 Ineos Grenadier LWB Station Wagon Fieldmaster on display in the Corporate Eagle hangar at Oakland County International Airport. A dealership in Waterford Township is the first in Michigan to sell the old-school, body-on-frame, off-road oriented SUV from startup Ineos. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe look of the vehicles is old-school, it\u2019s got an ICE (internal combustion engine) \u2014 not an electric drivetrain. We\u2019re finding out from what we\u2019ve seen that people are veering back to ICE from electric,\u201d said Jay Feldman, sitting next to a silver Grenadier in his Waterford dealership. \u201cThis is a very fast vehicle with a turbocharged, inline-6 cylinder BMW drivetrain (with) lots of modern features to it \u2014 although the inside looks like a jet plane with controls on the ceiling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like other startups Tesla, Rivian and Fisker, Ineos\u2019 appeal is deeply intertwined with its colorful CEO. Billionaire founder\u00a0Sir James Ratcliffe<\/a>\u00a0is head of Ineos and a passionate outdoorsman, Land Rover collector and sportsman. He owns the Manchester United soccer team and is a partner in the Mercedes AMG Formula One team.<\/p>\n

He’s had a long love-hate relationship with the Land Rover Defender, the iconic off-road vehicle that \u2014 like Jeep in the United States \u2014 is synonymous with adventure and safaris.<\/p>\n

Dismayed that Land Rover discontinued his beloved, ladder-framed Defender in 2016 (it was relaunched in 2020 on a unibody SUV chassis shared with other Jaguar Land Rover products like the Jaguar F-Pace), Ratcliffe did what any billionaire enthusiast would: he built his own. The idea for a no-nonsense, ladder-framed 4×4 was hatched over a beer at the Grenadier pub in London.<\/p>\n

\"Think<\/figure>\n
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Think Land Rover’s gone soft? You could be in the market for an Ineos Grenadier like this one on the showroom floor of the Feldman dealership in Waterford Township. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The result is the Ineos Grenadier SUV, with ambitions to sell 25,000 globally, including in the United States, where it debuted as a 2024 model. The Defender likeness is unmistakable with round headlights and boxy stance, and Ineos survived an intellectual property lawsuit brought by Land Rover in England claiming it has stolen its design. With the runway cleared for production, Ineos has opened 26 dealerships in the United States, including Feldman Ineos Grenadier.<\/p>\n