Newly-founded off-road brand Ineos Automotive has revealed the Grenadier Quartermaster at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed. It's a double-cab pickup truck that has room for five and promises to offer off-road ability like no other pickup on market.
As its name suggests, the Quartermaster is based on the Grenadier Station Wagon, and it comes in the same trim levels and with the same engines as the standard 4x4.
Size matters
The Quartermaster's wheelbase is 305mm longer than the Station Wagon's, and it measures 5,440mm in total, which is 545mm longer than the five-door model. The big changes are at the rear, where a cargo bed has been added. This is big enough to take at least one Euro pallet, since it measures 1,564mm long and 1,619mm wide. Practical touches include a drop-down tailgate that can take 225kg of weight, while four lashing eyes are fitted, too. Ineos will offer a range of accessories to make the most of the load area, including a roll-top load cover, mounting brackets and bed protectors.
Power comes from 3.0-litre straight-six petrol and diesel engines from BMW, and they're connected to an eight-speed automatic gearbox from ZF. As with the Station Wagon, a range of off-road tech is fitted, with a two-speed transfer case, plus a centre differential lock and off-road biased recirculating ball steering. Front and rear differential locks will be available as an option, too, while approach and departure angles of 35.5 and 22.6 degrees, respectively, are impressive. There's a breakover angle of 26.2 degrees, too, while a wading depth of 800mm is competitive with rival 4x4s.
Ineos quotes a towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes for both engines, while payload weights are 835kg for the petrol model and 760kg for the diesel. This is lower than the payload weight you'd typically find with a conventional double-cab pickup truck, but Ineos states that the Quartermaster meets the N1 classification for commercial vehicles in the EU.
As with the Station Wagon, there are higher-spec Fieldmaster and Trialmaster variants available, while order books are open now.
Fuel cell developments
Elsewhere at the Festival of Speed, Ineos revealed a hydrogen-powered version of the Grenadier Station Wagon. It comes equipped with the latest fuel cell system to be developed by BMW, and has been engineered into the standard car with help from Austrian engineering firm AVL. The standard Grenadier's frame and rear axle were modified to fit the fuel cell powertrain and electric drive units, as was the bonnet, which has a distinct hump to make way for the fuel cell stack beneath. However, Ineos claims that if the hydrogen model makes production, it will make the system fit beneath the car's standard bonnet.
Lynn Calder, the CEO of Ineos Automotive, explained why it has developed this unique model: "The hydrogen powered Grenadier Demonstrator along with our all-electric model due in 2026, shows Ineos's commitment to net zero. BEVs are perfect for certain uses, shorter trips, most private car journeys and urban deliveries, whilst Hydrogen FCEVs are more suited for longer trips, heavy duty cycles where batteries impact too much on payload and where long range between stops is necessary.
"Ineos also produces 400,000 tonnes of hydrogen per annum and is committed to hydrogen as a key fuel of the future. Our demonstrator proves that the technology is capable, but what we need now is support from policy makers to help provide the infrastructure for the next generation of hydrogen vehicles."
With hydrogen vehicles and the fuelling infrastructure still in its infancy, Ineos hasn't committed to a production date for the fuel cell-powered Grenadier.