The British Formula 1 driver took the Grenadier 4x4 for a spin on- and off-road outside of INEOS Automotive headquarters. He was given this opportunity because INEOS is one of the principal sponsors and shareholders of Mercedes-AMG Petronas. Lewis Hamilton had a very special passenger with him during his drive: INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
"I'm genuinely enjoying driving this car," Sir Lewis said while driving on a dirt road. "It's very comfortable considering some of the huge dips we were driving down... I was pretty much flat-out around the course. I'm massively surprised at how much grip there is," admitting that it feels "James Bond-like."
Sir Jim said: "The Grenadier was designed to be good off-road, but we didn't know it was going to be as good as it is on the road. I can definitely say I don't think anyone has ever driven it like Lewis drove it."
Ineos Grenadier
The Grenadier was created because its inventor, Jim Ratcliffe, wanted to buy the rights to make the old Defender but Land Rover said no. So he decided to engineer his own car that could go anywhere. There was a legal dispute because Tata Motors-owned automaker said the Grenadier looked too much like the Defender, but Ineos ultimately won because the design of the original Defender was never trademarked.
The British manufacturer kicked off development for the Grenadier 4x4 back in 2017 and production recently started out in France, at the former smart factory, with deliveries slated to begin this December. The Ineos Grenadier is offered with two 3.0-liter, inline-six BMW engines. There's the B57 diesel with 245 hp and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) or the B58 gasoline mill that is rated at 281 hp and 332 lb-ft (450 Nm). Both work with an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission in an SUV equipped with three differential locks.
Customer deliveries of the Grenadier are planned to begin this December, with a confirmed arrival in the United States next year.
Source: Ineos Automotive
