The 4x4 specialist company Ineos has shown off five concept vehicles based on its existing Grenadier station wagon and Quartermaster pickup truck model ranges at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this week, as well as showcasing a luxurious, hand-finished, limited-edition version of the Grenadier called the Detour, which will be made by its newly created Arcane Works.
Can you walk us through the concepts first?
First up the ramp is a portal-axle kit for either of the Grenadier or the Quartermaster, which takes the vehicles’ off-roading abilities to new heights, both literally and metaphorically. Portal axles have been seen on a variety of tough, 4x4-specialist vehicles over the years, such as the Mercedes G-Class, and the modification for the Ineos machines comes from German company LeTech GmbH & Co KG. LeTech is a retail partner of Ineos and, for this vision of the products, it raises the chassis through the portal axles and offset wheel hubs, increasing the ground clearance by 250mm to 514mm overall, while also ensuring the Ineos vehicles can wade through 1,050mm of water - up from 800mm as standard. Also fitted with larger off-road tyres, the portal-axle Grenadier has already been supplied to the fire brigade in Mühlheim an der Ruhr, Germany, so it has real-world applications already.
Excellent. What’s next?
The Shortermaster. As you might be able to work out, this pun is a play on Quartermaster and yes, it’s a shorter version of the otherwise-hulking great pickup. The Shortermaster was created by Ineos engineers at its production facility in Hambach, France, and is based on a standard Grenadier station wagon, which means it has a 2,922mm wheelbase (the distance between the axles) - which is 305mm shorter than the same measurement on the Quartermaster. To accommodate this, there’s less room in the passenger compartment, as the rear seats have been pushed forwards to maximise the load-bed capacity.
That’s intriguing, will it make production?
It may do, but to be honest we’d be more interested in the next Ineos concept. It’s called the Grenadier V8 Prototype and is said to be a one-off project for partner firm Magna’s engineering apprentices. For this model, the 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine, sourced from BMW, is replaced by a GM-derived 6.2-litre V8 petrol unit that develops 431hp and 625Nm, significant increases from the existing Grenadier’s 286hp/450Nm outputs. Switching from a six-cylinder to a V8 necessitated a complete re-engineering of the engine mounts, engine electrics and electronics, water and oil cooling, exhaust manifold and rear silencer, transmission bearings and heat shields, as well as influencing the interior with its redesigned centre console. Now, as high-end luxury 4x4s and SUVs typically have a high-power derivative - see the Mercedes-AMG G 63 and the incoming Land Rover Defender Octa for examples - there’s clearly a place in the portfolio for a production-ready V8 Grenadier.
What else did Ineos have on show?
The eight-seat Safari game-viewer, which is a converted Quartermaster with the work done by Botswana-based Ineos Kavango. Three tiered rows of seats provide excellent visibility for all passengers, while there’s enhanced off-road protection from bespoke front and side bars, as well as unique alloy wheels wearing off-road-specific tyres for demanding terrain.
The other confection here was the Buzz Special Vehicles motorsport take on the Grenadier, which is the first FIA-compliant model from the company. Modified to compete in the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship, the Buzz Grenadier develops 354hp and 550Nm from the BMW straight-six, which are increases of 68hp and 100Nm, respectively. It also has a sports exhaust system, race suspension from R53 Engineering, uprated brakes and bespoke alloy wheels. Inside, the cabin is stripped out and has a full roll cage, racing bucket seats, and employs carbon fibre for the door panels and roof vents.
You mentioned a hand-finished Grenadier, too...
We did indeed. The Detour will be put together by Arcane Works, which is Ineos’ new luxe division. It uses unique design elements and finishing touches from elite craftspeople, allowing Grenadier customers to add their own personalisation touches to the big 4x4. It will continue to be offered with the choice of the 3.0-litre petrol or diesel straight-six engines, but for the former there will be an exclusively tailored exhaust system to ‘enhance the sound character and emotion of the vehicle’.
More specifically, the Grenadier Detour will be identifiable by a new design of 18-inch forged alloy wheel, as well as a different front grille with headlight surrounds. Four dedicated paint finishes - Magma Red, Whiteout Blue, Squall Green and Storm Force Silver - are offered on the Detour, all of which are polished by hand to enhance the finish. And if those colours don’t tickle your fancy, then well-heeled-enough owners can choose the bespoke paint option, which will colour-match the Grenadier Detour’s bodywork to whatever sample is given to the company, or even to an existing vehicle that the customer may own.
More touches for the Detour include a contrast pack for the front and rear skid plates, the roof rails and the rear ladder, while the exterior lighting has been ‘decoloured’ for a sleeker appearance. Inside, two new satin finishes for the transmission tunnel, doors and air vents will be offered, alongside leathers and fabrics for the main touchpoints. Four fine-grain Bridge of Weir leathers will be provided as the options for the quilted seat upholstery, along with two cashmeres from Johnstons of Elgin for the headlining, and all Grenadier Detours will have a laser-etched aluminium sill plate displaying the vehicle’s limited-edition status.
That sounds tasty. Anything else to add?
Just a few comments from key people at Ineos. Lynn Calder, the CEO of Ineos Automotive, said of the varied concept versions of the vehicles: “The Grenadier’s body-on-frame chassis has already proven itself to be incredibly versatile, so as we look to future product and limited editions, we want to keep innovating. As our new brand campaign states, the Grenadier is ‘Built For More’, and over the next few years we will be showing just what that means.”
Meanwhile, George Ratcliffe, the commercial director at Ineos Automotive, said of the Detour and the new skunkworks which will build it: “We chose the Arcane name for our new division because the limited-edition vehicles it creates will be so unique as to be rarely spotted in the wild.
“Working in small batches and hand-finishing the cars means we can give a level of individuality not found in the 4x4 market. For our first launch, Grenadier Detour felt like a fitting name as the Grenadier is for people who enjoy driving, and sometimes it’s worth taking the longer route.”