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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018   
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I wonder where he is?
Dr Mark Evans (@MarkEvansTV) Tweeted: #DreamDrive Grenadier prototype. Composed. Capable. Coming soon đ https://t.co/0gnoyua4Nh https://twitter.com/MarkEvansTV/status/1422680843651358729?s=20  Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge |
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4th Aug 2021 6:35am |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018
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Good spot.
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4th Aug 2021 11:48am |
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| mikeh501 Member Since: 07 Jan 2013 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1142
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I think it looks better in blue, and probably other darker colours.
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4th Aug 2021 12:20pm |
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| Mike_E Member Since: 13 Apr 2017 Location: Aberdeenshire Posts: 161 
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never realised how big this is... same length/height/width/wheelbase as a 76 series Landcruiser. Big old truck!
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4th Aug 2021 4:46pm |
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| mikeh501 Member Since: 07 Jan 2013 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1142
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It is sizeable in the flesh, has their been some proper dimensions released?
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4th Aug 2021 5:13pm |
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| Mike_E Member Since: 13 Apr 2017 Location: Aberdeenshire Posts: 161
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i just saw dims on wiki....
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4th Aug 2021 5:18pm |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018
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Pretty fair article in The Telegraph:
Ineos Grenadier: the new 4x4 is a rough, tough, go-anywhere truck that's full of contradictions Click image to enlarge We donât normally do this stuff, sitting in a passenger seat while a chisel-faced test driver pulls some tricks to make a vehicle look better than it really is. But the Ineos Grenadier is a vehicle full of contradictions. For a start, itâs a now old-fashioned body-on-frame utility aimed at a market which other makers are rapidly deserting. At a mooted ÂŁ45,000 including VAT for the two-seat commercial version when it goes on sale next summer, this is a resolutely analogue vehicle with buttons enough for several Christmas pantos, but it also sports a thoroughly modern touchscreen because without it the engine wonât run. Itâs a rough, tough, go-anywhere truck, powered by BMWâs state-of-the-art, powerful and refined turbocharged diesel and petrol engines, along with ZFâs slick eight-speed automatic gearbox. Itâs also a car with an apologetic little bicycle warning hooter button on the steering wheel, produced by a company which owns an eponymous top-flight cycle racing team which on some terrains probably rides faster than a Grenadier can muster. It must have been an enormous leap of faith for those highly experienced engineers and designers who have joined Ineos in the last three years. There was certainly plenty of money behind it (Jim Ratcliffe, a Monaco-domiciled chemicals magnate, is one of the worldâs richest men), but failure would have meant career suicide for these women and men. Click image to enlarge Yet while few have actually met him, there must have been something in Ratcliffeâs vision and determination which inspired them to take the risk. And where James Dyson, the wealthy vacuum cleaner man, took on an equally talented team of engineers and designers to build his battery-electric fantasy car then left them all high and dry, Iâve little doubt that Ratcliffe will get his Grenadier, named after a Belgravia pub, across the finishing line in 12 months. Evidence of progress came this week at the first of a series of UK open days for early customers and media, which presages a world tour. While the company has allowed some journalists to actually drive engineering prototypes of this coil-sprung, solid-axled utility at development partner and 4x4 specialist Magna Steyrâs headquarters in Austria, this is a much-reduced acquaintance with Ineos test and development driver Mark Cullum at the wheel. Reduced further still at the last moment by the withdrawal of the prototype car we were due to be in for a less capable engineering example; still, you take what you can get. After this long build-up (though relatively short development cycle), it was a relief to be sitting at last in the passenger seat as Cullum drove across the wide parkland of the beautiful Apley estate near Telford in Shropshire. There wasnât much here to tax even a front-driven supermini crossover on decent tyres let alone a permanent four-wheel drive, high-riding utility with no fewer than three locking differentials. In fact, we never even dipped into the low range gearing or locked a differential for improved traction, such is the unflustered nature of the vehicle. Click image to enlarge Youâll have to excuse me if I donât do a passenger seat road test here, attributing qualities that I can only guess at, but I can confirm an abiding quality of strength and solidity, good body geometry to enter and exit steep slopes, decent sealing of apertures in the bodyshell and low-down growly power from the 3.0-litre turbo diesel (the last figures we had for this engine were 250bhp and 369lb ft of torque, with the turbo petrol equivalent delivering 283bhp and 332lb ft, although that could change in production). Accommodation in this engineering car seems comfortable, high off the ground, with (unlike the old Land Rover Defender), plenty of width for your shoulders. The vaunted many-button dashboard wasnât in operation, nor were any of the switches, so weâll reserve judgement. Theyâre spinning out the actual terms and exact prices which will be charged for the Grenadier, but we are expecting some kind of announcement within six weeks. Steve Graham, head of aftersales for the company, says his top-five extras will be: tow bars; extra lamps; a winch; a roof rack; and side steps. Click image to enlarge Like all the sales and marketing staff, heâs anxious that the Grenadier earns its place in peopleâs hearts and on the buying list of fleet buyers. That quiet modesty runs right through the company, but Graham is pleased with the reception heâs had so far. âWeâre now getting enquiries from people outside of those in the know, whoâve said that they also want to be in the know,â he says, âbut the issue is legacy and fleet sales will come when the professional buyers see track record and figures for total cost of ownership.â While Grenadier testing is taking place around the world, all the serious 4x4 companies have their special places where they earn their red badges of courage and make a legend for their cars: Land Rover has its daunting proving ground at Eastnor Castle and its incredibly tight off-road course at the factory in Solihull; Mercedes-Benz has the 1,445m high Schöckl mountain behind the Magna Steyr factory in Graz, which builds the mighty G-Wagen off roader; Toyota has the old pilgrim route up Mount Fuji, or the samurai trail to the temple on top of Mount Atago; and thereâs the tough rocks of the Rubicon Trail in America for Jeep, which begats the âTrail Ratingâ for its vehicles. Click image to enlarge All the above companies have had their ups and downs over the years and good and bad models, but a Jeep, Land Rover, Land Cruiser or G-Wagen badge on the back of a vehicle is the promise of a level of capability and toughness to which Ineos is striving. And while flogging a new thing to the bright young things of Rodeo Drive, the Dubai Mall, Bayswater, the Rue de Rivoli or the Harajuku in Tokyo is all very well, if the Grenadier is going to have staying power (as well as garnering the confidence of utility compnies, fleets and eventually armed forces for green-fleet work), itâs going to have to gain its own identity rather than looking like a very capable thing painstakingly designed by agencies with chassis and drivetrains from Germany, axles from Italy and transmission from America, built at a fire-sale ex-Mercedes factory in France. So, excuse us if we say no more than promising (although it looks great with some mud on it!), but the proof of the pudding is when itâs in a field pulling a trailer full of sheep for a farmer, or a generator for a linesman, or a couple of search and rescue dogs for the police⊠I think you know what I mean. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/features/...adictions/ Last edited by Supacat on 9th Aug 2021 4:27pm. Edited 1 time in total |
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6th Aug 2021 5:08pm |
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| familymad Member Since: 13 Dec 2011 Location: Bucks Posts: 3479  
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Cant read that. Can you copy? 1951 80" S1 2.0
1995 110 300TDI 1995 90 300TDI |
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6th Aug 2021 9:07pm |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018
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I wonder how well it will fit in central London? Click image to enlarge Volkswizard.co.uk (@andrewjchapple) Tweeted: The only traffic jam I encountered in central London last week was caused by this Defender acting as a mobile width restriction due to being quite a bit bigger than the bay itâs moored in. Q5 isnât exactly a small car but looks it here. https://t.co/oN3Qultj83 https://twitter.com/andrewjchapple/status/...51906?s=20 |
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9th Aug 2021 12:24pm |
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| Rashers Member Since: 21 Jun 2015 Location: Norfolk Posts: 3479 
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Just googled the widths.
Q3 1893mm wide Defender 1996mm wide. That's 103mm wider or near enough 4 inches in old money. I suppose that Defender is about 4 inches wider than the parking space on that photo. God help the fire brigade if they were trying to get an appliance down there in a hurry  I expect that is a problem on many streets for them, whether or not there is a wide 4x4 parked on the side of the road. |
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9th Aug 2021 12:43pm |
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| What puddle? Member Since: 25 Oct 2013 Location: Reading Posts: 952
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This must be a country-wide issue.
Here in Reading, we have a road called Francis Street. Here it is on Google Streetview... Click image to enlarge As you can see, the scaffolding lorry has made sure no one is going up there. As you ascend it, it gets slightly narrower... Click image to enlarge I drive a VW Caddy, and can make it through - an ambulance would not. However, we have one even worse than that!... Click image to enlarge You HAVE to drive along the pavement, there is no alternative, and worst of all... it's TWO-WAY! I think a fire engine would be seriously pushed to make it down here, as it's even narrower than it look in the photo - you nearly hit the two street lights which stick out a little further than the brick walls of the front gardens. But no one cares! Can anyone beat this road? Now left. |
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9th Aug 2021 1:08pm |
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| Philip Member Since: 09 Mar 2018 Location: England Posts: 510
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Should be fine given a Range Rover is no problem. |
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9th Aug 2021 2:53pm |
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| Philip Member Since: 09 Mar 2018 Location: England Posts: 510
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Itâs a Q5: Click image to enlarge |
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9th Aug 2021 2:59pm |
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| Rashers Member Since: 21 Jun 2015 Location: Norfolk Posts: 3479
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Genuine typo Philip
Your diagrams are very similar to the Google measurements. |
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9th Aug 2021 3:03pm |
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