Yahoo Autos Ineos Rolls Into Goodwood with 5 Cool New Prototypes
With the Goodwood Festival of Speed underway starting July 11, Ineos is taking the homeland opportunity to tease what's in store for its startup success story. With eight years of manufacturing under its belt and its first SUVs and pickup trucks rolling around both on the street and off it, the London-based brand is now starting to branch out into higher-powered and more extreme off-road offerings.
For starters, Ineos plans to offer a portal-axled Grenadier Quartermaster and Station Wagon, with the help of renowned German vehicle modifiers LeTech GmbH & Co KG. Beyond the portal axles and offset wheel hubs. Ineos has raised the chassis of these off-road savvy units, featuring a ground clearance of 20.2 inches and a wading depth increase from 2.6 feet to over 3 feet. Larger all-terrain tires tie together this prototype package, though Ineos says this package has already been applied in the real world for a fire brigade in Mühlheim an der Ruhr, Germany.
While Ineos already offers a form of a pickup truck, the brand decided to add a pint-sized bed to the mix with the short-bed Quartermaster Pick-Up, nicknamed the ‘Shortermaster’. Dreamed up at the Hambach production plant in France, the Shortermaster features a wheelbase that is 12 inches shorter than its full-sized sibling, for a total wheelbase of 115 inches. To allow for adequate loading capacity, Ineos says the rear seats have been pushed forward inside the cabin, which we assume means a small loss of rear legroom.
Most of these Ineos prototypes revolve around an increased degree of practicality, but perhaps the most exciting new offering is one with a General Motors L87 V-8 in it. Swapping out Grenadier’s BMW-borrowed 3.0-liter straight-six gasoline engine, Ineos dropped in a 6.2-liter V8 gasoline unit that makes 425 hp and 461 lb-ft of torque. In order to fit in this significantly upsized engine, Ineos says it had to re-engineer the engine mounts, engine electronics, water and oil cooling, exhaust manifold and rear silencer, transmission bearings and heat shields, as well as the entire center console.
Ineos is also digging into the Safari scene with a converted Quartermaster Pick-Up by its Botswana-based Ineos Kavango subset. With three tiered rows of seats, Ineos says the Safari Quartermaster features enhanced off-road protection through front and side protection bars; bespoke alloy wheels shod in all-terrain tires, and is designed with passenger visibility in mind. While leisure safaris represent one role that the Ineos Safari unit fulfills, the company also aims to use the prototype model for conservation, anti-poaching, veterinary, primary healthcare, and film production sectors.
Last but certainly not least, Ineos even insists that it will get into racing one day, teasing the first FIA-compliant Grenadier. With the help of Buzz Special Vehicles, the rally-prepared Grenadier will compete in the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship, thanks to its full internal roll-cage, racing bucket seats carbon interior door panels, and roof vents. From a power perspective, Ineos keeps its BMW-derived 3.0-liter straight-six but with an increased load of power, totaling 348 hp and 405 lb-ft of torque. That's an increase of 67 hp and 73 lb-ft of torque. Beyond the power upgrades, the FIA-compliant rally racer also features a race suspension from the Warwick-based R53 outfit and upgraded brakes.
Ineos Automotive's upcoming Grenadier prototypes are sharp-looking 4x4s with on-trend tuning bends, but Ineos isn't just showing what it might do for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Beyond these concept models, Ineos is officially launching a limited edition Grenadier known as the Detour. Partnering with its newly created Arcane Works division, the Grenadier Detour will be limited to a production run of 200 units, reserved for those buyers who value personalization overall.
At its heart, the Grenadier Detour will run on a traditional Grenadier platform with the choice of two straight-six, 3.0-liter BMW engines (gas or diesel) and standard 18-inch forged alloy wheels. Other visual changes include a specially designed front grille with headlight surrounds and four exclusive paint colors: Magma Red, Whiteout Blue, Squall Green, and Storm Force Silver. Arcane Works' bespoke paint options with color matching to customer-provided hues will also be available.
Inside the Grenadier Detour is where prospective customers can get really personal, with a choice of two new satin finishes for the transmission tunnel as well as four fine-grain Bridge of Weir leathers for the quilted seat upholstery. Beyond that, two kinds of cashmere from Johnstons of Elgin will be available for the headliner. All Detour models will feature a laser-etched aluminum door scuff plate noting its limited-edition status. All 200 units will be hand-finished in the United Kingdom, though Ineos has yet to say just how much a typical Grenadier Detour will cost.
Production plans and pricing for the prototype models have yet to be announced — not surprising, since it remains unclear just how serious Ineos is about bringing these to production. Even so, the presence of V-8-powered and FIA-approved versions is exciting — and we hope to get behind the wheel soon enough.
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