Billionaire chemical magnate Jim Ratcliffe isn't fooling around when it comes to kitting out his reboot of the beloved, classic Land Rover Defender. The Ineos Grenadier SUV and its pickup truck sibling, the Quartermaster, are getting special treatment from LeTech, a German off-roading outfitter. Notable is the addition of portal axles, jacking up the ground clearance to 1.5 feet and enabling the robust vehicles to take on almost 3.5 feet of water.
But that's just one goodie that the Trialmaster X LeTech package includes. For about 170,000 EUR (nearly $200,000, more than double the Ineos' base price), Letech will take your Grenadier SUV or Quartermaster pickup from the factory in Hambach, France and transfer it to a facility near Stuttgart to be beastified. (The Quartermaster's upgrade is a tad more expensive.) The Letech treatment starts with the Trialmaster trim, so-named thanks to Ineos' collaboration with Belstaff, the fashion brand that Ratcliffe has owned since 2017.
Honestly, the whole thing is rather bonkers, but the package should appeal to the most hardcore off-roaders. For now, it's being offered only in Europe, but as Grenadier has been fairly successful in the U.S., we should expect it to be an option over here in the future.
INEOS
Ineos had already been working with LeTech on conversions, so this project – which Lynn Calder, the CEO of Ineos Automotive termed "epic" in a press release – is a natural piece of co-branding. A triple-play, if fact given the inclusion of Belstaff and the Trialmaster moniker (Trialmaster is a famous style of motorcycle jacket, by the way). And epic the kit is, indeed.
As is the pricing: the package makes the Grenadier wagon more than twice as expensive as the straight Trialmaster. But have a gander at what you get: Basic mods consist of a heavy-duty, five-link front and rear suspension, the aforementioned portal axles, offset wheel hubs, and 37-inch Goodrich Mud Terrain tires on 18-inch forged alloy wheels, according to the company. LeTech adds its own brakes, wheel arches and running boards, front winch, rear ladder and gas-can mount, roof rack, LED lightbar, spare tire carrier, and "Trialmaster X LeTech" identity. You can also throw in a tire-pressure control system, a lockable drawer box, LED rear working lamps, and a Maxtrax sand ladder. The results look absolutely stonking in the gorgeous press photos, captured in Iceland.
Powertrains are unchanged: you can choose between a gas or diesel turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 motor, supplied by BMW. The gas engine makes 282 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, while the oil-burner makes 245 hp and 406 lb-ft.
INEOS
Ratcliffe was famously ticked off when Jaguar Land Rover wouldn't sell him the legacy Defender designs to greenlight continued production after the company revamped the legend in 2019, so he stomped off and started Ineos Grenadier to satisfy his 4x4 purist enthusiasm. The body-on-frame SUV has been a relative hit in the U.S., selling about 8,000 units, reported Automotive News. The company wants to grow that by 50%.
The concept of an improved Defender that still embraces the rough-and-ready persona of its predecessor obviously appeals to fans of the platform, which has always had a cult following. In the off-roading niche, there's almost no limit to what you can offer proper devotees, so while the LETECH collab might seem excessive, it's really aimed at alpha gearheads of high net worth who embrace a no-compromise lifestyle. Or at least say they do and can write massive checks.
As such, it makes solid business sense for Ineos, which had an EV incoming in the form of the Fusilier (that has now been delayed), unveiled last year, but which has also validated itself beyond a vanity play by leaning into old-school combustion and actually selling vehicles at respectable levels. Yes, Ratcliffe is staggeringly rich, but the auto industry has a way of obliterating fortunes. At this point, his passion project needs all the extra cashflow it can generate.
