Ineos Automotive has confirmed its new Grenadier will be offered in double-cab bakkie form, in addition to the standard SUV body style.
“It will be a family. There will be Grenadiers,” said Mark Tennant, commercial director for Ineos Automotive, during an online press conference attended by CARmag.co.za ahead of the new model’s reveal.
“The great thing about the form of construction we’ve adopted – the ladder frame, and so on – it is adaptable to different body configurations,” Tennant explained.
While the company provided little extra detail about the bakkie version (pictured above), it did confirm the pick-up body style would feature a “longer wheelbase” than that of the SUV.
For some background, Ineos Automotive is a subsidiary of a petrochemical company called the Ineos Group. It says the new Grenadier will be “built from the ground up on an all-new platform” (with some engineering help from Magna Steyr).
Power for the ladder-frame vehicle (which will feature solid axles) will come from a “slightly detuned” BMW inline-six engine, with the automatic transmission courtesy of the folks over at ZF. Ineos promises the Grenadier will offer “best-in-class off-road capability, durability and reliability”. Expect a one-tonne payload and a braking towing capacity of 3 500 kg.
Production is slated to start in “late 2021” in Wales, with South Africa already identified as a potential market and local sales expected to start in 2022 (interestingly, the firm sees the Grenadier as fresh competition for high-end double-cab bakkies).
