INEOS Grenadier: A future icon of the countryside

How do brands become ‘icons’ of the countryside? Sometimes it is the sheer utility of a product: Schoffel gilets are everywhere because they’re warm, stylish and comfortable. Barbours were once popular in the field because they were tough, waterproof and hardwearing. Other brands become iconic by dint of heritage or sheer longevity. 

The ubiquitous Schoffel 'lifejacket' has become emblematic of the countryside

Then there is the ‘third way’ - those brands that gain diehard support through their actions. The shooting community, especially in recent years, sometimes feels under attack from all sides, so when a business decides to align itself with us, we take them into our hearts. That fondness is exaggerated yet further when we have a sense that a product hasn’t just been aimed at us, but has been made by ‘one of us’. 

It is, as weathermen and political pundits know all too well, dangerous to make predictions about the future, but I’m going to take that risk, and suggest that a new brand is about to enter the pantheon of iconic countryside brands: INEOS Automotive.

I feel confident enough to do so because GunsOnPegs have been working with them for nearly two years now, and I have seen first hand how they have gone out of their way to fully embed themselves in the shooting and rural community - their sponsorship of the Countryside Champion Award is a case in point - but more than that, fieldsports is in the 4x4's very lifeblood, and in the hearts of some of the most important people behind the project.

For the shooting community

That the INEOS Grenadier has been made for the fieldsports enthusiast is undeniable. From the very start the company has shown its desire to engage with the community, hence our ongoing partnership. In addition to that they have shown their workings by putting even very early prototypes in front of a wide range of people involved in shooting. You don’t see many other car brands showing anyone their pre-production thought processes do you? But INEOS Automotive has used the shooting community as a focus group.

Inspecting an early prototype

One of the very first things INEOS Automotive did with one of the earliest prototypes, in early Spring 2021, was take it to an estate in Hertfordshire in order to put it in front of a small audience of sporting agents, estate owners, farm hands and gamekeepers. I was fortunate enough to be present that day, and was able to see how carefully the INEOS Automotive representatives listened to the feedback and tried to gain an understanding of the challenges that people running shoots face and what they require from a hardworking 4x4. 

Fast forward to late November 2021. The scene: The farmyard, The Browne Family Shoot, Hampshire. In addition to the usual motley collection of vehicles parked in the yard as the guns and beaters enjoyed a cup of coffee, a couple of additions stood out among the mud-bespattered and dinged array. First, a bright white truck, and, being carefully reversed off it, the latest INEOS Grenadier prototype, conspicuous by its lack of mud and the crash-test stickers.

The INEOS Grenadier's lack of mud was soon to change. It had been particularly wet during the week preceding the shoot day and the farm tracks were deeply rutted and somewhat slippery, so by the time we returned to the farmyard for elevenses after the first couple of drives the Grenadier looked rather more like a proper shooting bus. As they scoffed down sausage rolls and scotch eggs, and swilled homemade sloe gin, everyone gathered around, probing the company reps with questions.

Finally, INEOS Automotive brought the vehicle along to the much vaunted GunsOnPegs Podcast shoot day at the end of the season at Stockton in Wiltshire. The 20-strong team of guns was made up of GunsOnPegs team members, previous podcast guests, and a few honoured members of The Most Noble Order of the Garters - a group noted for their passion for shooting and the countryside.

Despite Stockton’s very well appointed ex-military gunbusses, several of the group took the opportunity to have a ride in the Grenadier between drives. That INEOS Automotive made the effort to get a machine on not one but two shoot days before the they were even available to order, to me, speaks volumes about their attitude towards our community.

By the shooting community

But I mentioned earlier that I think fieldsports is in the very blood of the INEOS Grenadier. Engaging with the community is one thing, but my initial statement requires some justification. Why do I say this?

First the designer, Toby Ecuyer, is a committed fly fisher and game shot, and was good enough to join us for an episode of the GunsOnPegs podcast. This means that when it comes to the off-roader's design quirks and features, we know that the person responsible is truly a part of our community, and understands what ‘the man on the gunbus’ is looking for from a 4x4.

Add to this the fact that Sir Jim Ratcliffe himself, the man behind the entire project, is another fieldsports enthusiast. He’s an expert salmon fisherman and has pumped millions into salmon conservation in Iceland, where he also indulges in the occasional bit of reindeer management and walked up ptarmigan shooting. He’s also a keen clay shot. 

With this knowledge it becomes hard to think of the Grenadier and INEOS Automotive as not only for the fieldsports community, but by the countryside community.

The day when the first production-ready models of the INEOS Grenadier roll off the production line is just around the corner. We know that GunsOnPegs and The Game Card readers have been registering their interest in their droves. I haven’t, because I’m waiting for the pick-up version, but I’m as excited to see the finished article as if I had already paid for one, and I know at least one of my colleagues is among those who have paid their reservation fee, so you can take it as read that here at GunsOnPegs we’re believers! 

I won’t have to wait long to find out whether my prediction that the vehicle will become an icon of the countryside comes to pass, but all the ingredients are there… 

Orders for INEOS Grenadiers open on the 18th May. Between now and then you can still reserve yours.