Watch Lewis Hamilton Go Off-Highway With The Ineos Grenadier

What’s Lewis Hamilton, a Mercedes-AMG Formulation 1 race automobile driver, doing behind the wheel of a BMW-powered SUV? Nicely, Ineos Automotive is a subsidiary of the chemical compounds firm Ineos Group, one of many F1 crew’s essential sponsors. The seven-time world champion stars in a brand new video showcasing the Grenadier and he’s joined by Ineos founder Jim Ratcliffe. Evidently, the 37-year-old driver with probably the most wins in F1 is an enormous fan of the boxy SUV.

Lewis Hamilton is thought for his assortment of low-slung supercars, however he appears to be having fun with himself behind the wheel of the high-riding Grenadier whereas driving off the crushed path. The SUV felt James Bond-like and he’d order one with the blacked-out lights, an additional set of LEDs on the roof, and the most important all-terrain tires accessible. The succesful off-roader has a bit extra physique roll than the kind of vehicles LH often drives, however he was left impressed with the quantity of grip accessible.

In manufacturing on the former Daimler plant in Hambach, France the place Good vehicles was once made, the Ineos Grenadier is obtainable with two 3.0-liter, inline-six BMW engines. There’s the B57 diesel with 245 hp and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) and the B58 gasoline mill rated at 281 hp and 332 lb-ft (450 Nm).

Within the ladder-frame SUV, each work with an eight-speed ZF automated transmission in an SUV geared up with three differential locks just like the Mercedes G-Class. The Grenadier is just not the one new SUV to make use of BMW engines because the Vary Rover and Vary Rover Sport get the larger V8 N63 from Munich.

You’ve got most likely heard the fascinating story about how the Grenadier got here to be. Jim Ratcliffe initially wished to purchase the rights for the previous Defender to proceed manufacturing, however Land Rover mentioned no. He determined to take issues into his personal fingers and engineer the go-anywhere from the bottom up. A authorized dispute adopted because the Tata Motors-owned automaker mentioned the Grenadier seemed an excessive amount of just like the Defender, however Ineos in the end received as a result of the design of the unique Defender was by no means trademarked.

Buyer deliveries are scheduled to start in December and Ineos Automotive has confirmed the Grenadier is coming to the US subsequent yr with the gasoline engine.