Ineos has revealed a new chassis cab version of its Grenadier Quartermaster bakkie and it may well come to South Africa further down the line. Here’s what we know so far…
Ineos Automotive has taken the wraps off a new chassis cab version of its Grenadier Quartermaster bakkie, a model the company says is “aimed at specialist vehicle converters and commercial body builders worldwide”.
So, will we see this fresh chassis-cab derivative – which interestingly retains the standard bakkie’s double-cab configuration, complete with 5 seats, and will be built alongside this model (and the station wagon) at the company’s Hambach facility in France – here in Mzansi?
Well, Ineos Automotive South Africa told Cars.co.za the following: “At present, the Grenadier Quartermaster chassis cab is not available to order in SSA [Sub-Saharan African] markets, but we are keeping this under review.”
Interestingly, however, the new body style has already been added to the automaker’s local configurator (alongside the Grenadier station wagon and standard Quartermaster bakkie), though only with a “register your interest” link for now. If it were to come to South Africa, of course, it would surely become the country’s most-expensive chassis cab, considering the standard Quartermaster holds that title in the double-cab space, currently kicking off at a cool R1 717 100.
Ineos Automotive says the new chassis cab was developed “in tandem” with the standard Quartermaster and is as such “engineered to deliver a class-leading combination of off-road capability and load-carrying versatility, with the comfort, safety, refinement and features that today’s drivers expect”.
Like the standard Quartermaster, the chassis cab boasts 3 227 mm between its axles (for the record, that’s 305 mm longer than the station wagon’s wheelbase), though features an exposed ladder frame aft of the passenger cabin, providing aftermarket vehicle converters with a “wide range of body building options”. While the braked towing capacity again comes in at 3 500 kg, Ineos Automotive unfortunately doesn’t list a maximum payload for this new derivative.
The heavy-duty solid beam axles, 2-speed transfer case and up to 3 locking differentials, though, are all carried over from the standard Quartermaster, while power again comes from BMW’s turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-6 engines (offered in 210 kW/450 Nm petrol and 183 kW/550 Nm diesel flavours), each driving all 4 wheels via a ZF-sourced 8-speed automatic transmission.
“In the first year since the Grenadier launched, we have already seen a number of specialist conversions, `particularly with emergency services such as fire, police and inshore rescue, so launching the Quartermaster chassis cab is a natural step that takes our off-road expertise into many commercial areas that need a class-leading 4×4,” said George Ratcliffe, Ineos Automotive’s commercial director.
“The Grenadier’s body-on-frame construction already provides huge versatility for customisation and we know from customer configurations that our vehicles are being used equally between commercial and leisure users. The ‘blank canvas’ chassis cab variant allows even greater versatility, from the basic trayback for agricultural use through recovery and emergency services to tourism, presenting an ideal platform for an overlanding camper,” adds Ratcliffe.
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