Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 driver Valtteri Bottas test-drove the INEOS Grenadier 4×4. Why is it the future INEOS model and not a car produced by the company he works for? Well, INEOS is one of the F1 team’s sponsors.
“Scandinavian people are used to being outdoors and be on our own. I think it is natural for us. For me, it’s an important thing and this is part of me,” the Finn tells. He admits that the wild recharges his battery, the off-road gives him a sense of freedom.
Valtteri Bottas is seen rushing with the Grenadier, fighting the rough terrain, rocks and mud included.
“The testing and development process is a key to a good car,” he adds, comparing off-roading with F1 racing and describing the Grenadier as “bulletproof”.
The off-roader developed by Ineos had to struggle to come to life. Sir Jim Ratcliff wanted to build a replacement for the Land Rover Defender. But the negotiations with Land Rover went south and the Brits eventually decided to revive the model.
The Grenadier will roll off the assembly line in Hambach, France after billionaire Jim Ratcliffe bought the factory where Mercedes’ smart used to see the light of day before ending up in the hands of Geely.
Valtteri Bottas drives the Grenadier with a BMW engine
The model that Bottas drives in the video gets no Mercedes tech, despite the relationship between INEOS and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team. Instead, the Grenadier receives the BMW six-cylinder internal combustion engine together with the ZF-sourced 8-speed automatic transmission.
The Grenadier measures 4.927 millimeters in length, 1.930 millimeters in width and 2.033 millimeters in height, sporting a wheelbase of 2.922 millimeters.
The model gets its name from Jim Ratcliffe’s favorite pub in London. That was the place where the initial idea of building an off-roader inspired by the first-gen Defender came up.
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