Watch out Land Rover!
LET BATTLE commence! Buccaneering billionaire oil baron Sir Jim Ratcliffe this week fired the first shot in a new 4X4 war by taking on Land Rover. Britain’s fifth-richest man, with an estimated fortune of £12.2billion, has unveiled plans for a new ‘back to basics’ off-roader: the Grenadier. Conceived by Ratcliffe in a pub of the same name in London’s Belgravia, the Grenadier aims to appeal to those seeking a traditional, hardworking 4X4 capable of going almost anywhere.
Expected to cost £30,000 to £45,000, the vehicle goes into production late next year in Bridgend, South wales. Hopes are to produce 25,000 annually.
Car enthusiast Ratcliffe, 67, believes there is a market for ‘oldschool’, boxy-looking 4X4s: Tonka Toys for grown-ups.
His Grenadier promises to combine ‘rugged British spirit and design, with German engineering rigour’ to produce a ‘capable, durable and reliable 4x4 designed and built to handle the harshest environments.’ There will be two variants: a classic 4X4, plus a double-cab pick-up with an open load-lugging platform at the back.
More are set to follow. An electric hydrogen-powered fuelcell version is also planned, using hydrogen in a chemical reaction rather than batteries to generate electric power.
The Grenadier will be easy and cheap to customise, says Ratcliffe. And it won’t be spartan: the interior is to be kitted out with latest equipment and safety systems.
At launch, power will be provided by conventional turbocharged BMw 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines.
Instead of showrooms, customers will shop online or via a network of traders, ‘popup sites’ at county shows, and at off-road experience centres.
For repairs and servicing, it is planning a ‘flying spanner’ service, and a partnership with a major chain.
Ratcliffe believes Land Rover left a gap in the market for the Grenadier when it ended production of the original Defender in 2016 after 67 years. This was replaced with the modern Defender, priced from £38,000.
INEOS Automotive, of which Ratcliffe is chairman, insist any resemblance to the original Land Rover Defender is due to the engineering requirements.