When Land Rover retired the original Defender, billionaire and Defender buff Sir Jim Ratcliffe offered to buy the design rights and production-line tooling so that the model might live on. JLR refused and the result of that decision is the subject of this week's road test.
Only in 2017 did Ratcliffe reveal his intention to produce (from a standing start) an uncompromising, old-school off-roader in the mould of the Defender, and since then the project has rarely been out of the limelight. Plans to build this serious 4x4 in South Wales were shelved when the modern, well-sited Hambach plant in eastern France, where for decades Daimler built Smarts, became available. All the while, JLR and Ineos Automotive were engaged in a legal dispute over the trademark rights for the very shape of the old Defender. JLR eventually lost, and the way for 'Grenadier' production was paved.
We have driven the Grenadier before, twice in prototype form (including up the truly inhospitable Schöckl mountain trail) and once in full production form. We already know that, once untethered from the public highway, this car will at least match, and possibly outperform, the original Defender. For some, that will mean a job largely done. But now the Grenadier undergoes a full road test to discover what it's like in a broader sense. How does it conduct itself day to day? How efficient is its BMWsourced powerplant? Does this car feel something of a pastiche, or is it the real deal for classic Defender lovers? Time to find out.
DESIGN AND ENGINEERING
Esta historia es de la edición September 20, 2023 de Autocar UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 20, 2023 de Autocar UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
THE DRAMATIC ITALIAN THAT MARKED THE END OF AN ERA
When the Huracán bowed out, the curtain fell forever on Lambo's V10
HOW EV MAKERS CAN WIN THE RACE TO 5.0MPKWH
Manufacturers are honing every detail to close in on big efficiency goal
MASERATI MC20
We bid a sad farewell to a handsome supercar that was easy to live with
The quickening
Instant acceleration is part of the appeal of an EV, but is it all getting a bit much for unwary and inexperienced drivers? JOHN EVANS investigates
Inside track
Watching an F1 race with live access to engineers and telemetry is the stuff of dreams for racing fans. ALEX WOLSTENHOLME makes a day of it
WHOLE IN ONE
The Volkswagen Golf has been all things to all motorists for half a century. At the wheel of a classic Mk1, VICKY PARROTT charts the eight-generation history of one of the world's most successful cars
DACIA DUSTER
Mk3 model gains digital tech, ADAS, slicker looks... Is this mission creep?
MAZDA CX-80 PHEV
Another look at Mazda's hefty SUV, this time in plug-in hybrid form
VAUXHALL GRANDLAND ELECTRIC
Newcomer looks to ease the average family SUV driver into EV motoring
BMW X3 20 XDRIVE
Fourth generation of brand's best-seller arrives with base petrol engine