The Ineos Grenadier is what hardcore Land Rover Defender fans wish the new one still had. We’ve driven and admired the SUV variant of the Grenadier for its old-school, no-nonsense, ladder-frame utility, unlike the unibody crossovers sold by Land Rover. Staying true to the roots of the original, Ineos looks set to introduce a pickup version of the Grenadier SUV soon, as revealed by new spy shots.
The spy shots were taken when the Grenadier pickup was doing winter tests on snow-covered trails somewhere in Scandinavia. There is nothing surprising in this, but the front end essentially looks like an SUV. Back from the C-pillars, though, an open pickup bed takes the place of the cargo hold. But Very Out back, the 70/30 split barn doors have been replaced with a traditional bottom-hinged pickup tailgate. The spare tyre, which used to reside on the rear door of the SUV, is now mounted vertically on the left side of the bed.
The similarities with the original Defender 130 pickup cannot be ignored. The cab has four full-size doors and two rows of seats. However, the rear of the cab is straight-cut rather than molded with the Classic’s curved C-pillars. On the Grenadier, a roll bar is added just behind the cab for both structural stiffening and potential for safety.
There’s no reason to suspect any major hardware changes. Grenadier sources its engines from BMW, the tried-and-true 3.0-liter B58 inline-six making around 283 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque, delivered through an eight-speed ZF automatic. Naturally the transfer case and locking differential are part of the package, while steering goes through an old school recirculating ball steering box.
Based on how complete and clear the vehicle looks – there’s even a URL on the back – it looks like Ineos will make an official announcement soon. It makes sense for Ineos to offer a double-cab pickup as its second model, since the structure is closest to an SUV. Down the road, it is possible that a single-cab could be introduced as well.