The Ineos Grenadier is the brainchild of British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of the London-based multinational chemical giant INEOS. Ratcliff is also a car enthusiast and experienced adventurer who developed a love for vacationing in Africa. While in the bush, his favorite vehicle was always the Land Rover Defender and so when production of the classic Defender ceased in 2016, Ratcliffe tried to buy the original tooling and rights to keep making it. When Jaguar Land Rover refused, the billionaire decided to build his own successor from scratch, pouring over a billion euros into the project.
Why the name Grenadier? Because the idea began at a London pub called ‘The Grenadier’. Ratcliffe wanted a “pure,” utilitarian 4×4 with a traditional body-on-frame build and solid axles. He partnered with established automotive names like Magna International for engineering, BMW for the 3.0-liter inline-six engines, and ZF for the 8-speed automatic transmissions. Land Rover attempted to block the project by trying to trademark the original Defender’s boxy reductionist shape, but UK courts ultimately ruled that the design was too functional to be exclusively owned. Ineos Automotive Limited was formed, and it set about Ratcliff’s dream of building the ultimate off-road SUV that combined rugged British spirit and design with German engineering rigor. It was a passionate quest for off-road capability, durability, and reliability with the modern comfort and refinement customers expect wherever they are in the world.
Evidently, the first vehicle four years ago was taken on a punishing seven-day safari across South Africa and Botswana where it performed impressively.
Ineos Automative received a record number of orders for its Grenadier 4X4 in Q1 2026, up 20% from the same period a year previously. After three years in production, the Grenadier received multiple awards, and more than 35,000 vehicles were delivered around the world.
In 2026, the INEOS Grenadier is now on sale in 50 global markets across North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China and Australia. Used as workhorses, adventure vehicles and as daily family transport, it has proven reliable, durable and peerlessly capable across a vast range of use cases.
Choices
Grenadier Station Wagon
Grenadier Quartermaster
Grenadier Utility Wagon
Grenadier Quartermaster Chassis Cab
Grenadier 1924
Grenadier Trialmaster
To find out more about INEOS Automotive, visit www.ineosgrenadier.com.
Images courtesy Ineos Grenadier
