New British four-wheel-drive gets its first taste of Australia on a testing tour.
Ineos has confirmed that testing of the first Grenadier model has begun in Australia.
“We promised we’d visit you, Australia. The 2B Tour starts today,” the company announced on its Instagram account.
View this post on Instagram
Part of its 2B Prototype tour sees Ineos test the rugged four-wheel-drive at locations around the world and the British car maker has come to Australia to gather testing data for the final production version. So far, it has already accumulated over 1.8 million kilometres of testing and will also include some time in Australia’s near neighbour New Zealand.
The first round of testing here begins at the Australian Automotive Research Centre (AARC) near Anglesea on the Victorian coast where there are 31 facilities for testing, including rough course, noise and vibration, gradient section, ride and handling and off-road and gravel handling tracks.
After the initial testing phase at the secure location, Ineos will send the Grenadier into the wilderness of Australia for real-world data at various locations around the country yet to be disclosed. The timing coincides nicely with increasing temperatures as Australia hits summer, particularly in the outback.
Pre-orders for customers have already opened and potential buyers will have the chance to check out the Grenadier as it is displayed around Australia during its time here.
The launch is planned in Australia in the second half of 2022 and prices start from $84,500 before on-road costs for the two-seat commercial Grenadier, which will be sold alongside a five-seat crew-cab commercial variant and the full-size passenger-carrying SUV. Prices for those models have not been revealed yet.
First customer deliveries should get underway in the final quarter of 2022.
Alex Rae