INEOS Grenadier to be tested in Australia

British heavy-duty 4x4 start-up INEOS Automotive has confirmed it will test its debut model, the INEOS Grenadier, in Australia and New Zealand.

The confirmation came overnight in a new video detailing the off-roader’s powertrain and prototype development timetable.

INEOS Automotive unveiled details of its new heavy-duty Grenadier in early July, a month after it was confirmed for Australian release.

Since then it has successfully defended the new vehicle’s design against claims by Land Rover that it impinged on the intellectual rights of its original Defender.

The new video update gives details on the permanent four-wheel drive INEOS Grenadier’s BMW-based six-cylinder turbo-diesel and turbo-petrol engines. It also confirms Grenadier will be auto-only, using a special version of the ZF eight-speed box BMW and other makers favour.

The last piece of the powertrain puzzle, the high- and low-speed transfer case, has been confirmed as a bespoke design by INEOS Automotive in conjunction with off-road specialist, Magna.

The confirmation of Australia and NZ testing was delivered by INEOS engineering project manager, Job Zwollo, who is heading up the gearbox and transfer case integration and vehicle calibration.

Zwollo confirmed that “100 plus full vehicle” Grenadier prototypes would cover around 1.8 million kilometres in the next 12 months ahead of the Grenadier’s 2021 debut.

“There’s going to be a whole bunch of cars running around the whole world... We going to see America, we’re going to see Africa. We’re going to see New Zealand this year. We’re going to see Australia. Everywhere...

“It’s [like] Christmas. Because you’ve been working on this virtual component on a computer screen. For every engineer, that’s [real-world testing] the magic moment,” Zwollo enthused.