Ineos already has two vehicles based on its rugged ladder-frame chassis, but the company claims there’s “huge scope” for more configurations in the future.
The fledging off-road specialist brand already offers the Grenadier wagon in two- and five-seat configurations, as well as the 30cm-longer Grenadier Quartermaster ute in both pickup and cab-chassis body styles.
Speaking with CarExpert, Ineos Automotive head of APAC region Justin Hocevar said the platform underpinning the Grenadier is great to work on.
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“I think that there’s still huge scope for us to really round out the full capability of our Grenadier platform,” said Mr Hocevar.
“It’s a great platform to work on. We want to stay in our lane be a specialist 4×4 manufacturer, and I think there’s still huge scope for us to do all manner of different configurations on top of this platform.”
At the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this year Ineos did reveal a wide array of concept vehicles based on the Grenadier and Grenadier Quartermaster.
Examples included a V8-powered wagon, a so-called ‘Shortermaster’ pickup, a portal axle-equipped Quartermaster, a FIA-compliant rally raid racer, and a Grenadier Safari vehicle.
It also revealed a hydrogen fuel-cell (FCEV) Grenadier wagon demonstrator a month earlier.
At this stage it’s still unclear whether any of these concepts will actually go into production.
When asked about whether a production V8-powered Grenadier is on the horizon, Mr Hocevar said if it became available “we’d be putting our hand up for it, but we’ve got to walk before we run”.
“I think Goodwood [Festival of Speed] got us all excited about the romantic notions of V8s, the sound, acoustic experience and everything like that,” said Mr Hocevar.
“We’d have to actually go a long way to get a higher output power unit into the vehicle that would be really purposeful in it.”
The V8-powered Grenadier prototype has a General Motors LS-series V8 engine producing 317kW of power and 625Nm of torque.
Although Mr Hocevar said the Grenadier platform is great to work on for body configurations, there are certain types Ineos currently isn’t exploring. An example of these include a seven-seat version of the Grenadier wagon.
‘[A seven-seat SUV] is one that we’ve been wrestling with for some time already. In fact this was a concept that was considered very early on in development” said Mr Hocevar.
“There are certainly some markets around the world where a third-row configuration would be really popular.
“For us right here, right now, with our production capacity, the global markets we’re launching in, the greater prominence of the five-seat market, means that we’re going to stay focused on that.
“But I think it’s a watch and act. We know that we’ve got that longer wheelbase [with the Grenadier Quartermaster].
Another Grenadier body configuration Ineos isn’t currently considering is a single-cab version of the Quartermaster.
“For this market, it’s a constant, ‘Hey, this is an important segment’ and we’d like to play in it,” said Mr Hocevar.
Right now, it’s not on the program. It’s a never say never, as I’ve mentioned before, we’re a specialist 4×4 company, and we would like to be able to offer a very diverse and specialised portfolio of vehicles.
“But right here, right now, we’re a little over a year into launching the wagon. We’re now launching the dual-cab. That is a much bigger segment than the single-cab market.
“The single-cab market, it’s an important one, and we know that there are buyers out there for that type of vehicle, but globally speaking, it’s highly competitive. It’s very price-driven.
‘The opportunity is not quite as large for us, but we’ll certainly be keeping a keen eye on it, and if that opportunity exists, as I said, never say never.”
