[quote="Bobupndown" 'Yorkshire model', the E-Up! [/quote]



Good one ! FL2 Ex D2, D3, RRS, etc. now all gone.

Extract from today's Financial Times
Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of Ineos and a prominent Brexit supporter, has selected German companies to develop his successor to the Land Rover Defender.

Ineos wants to branch out beyond its core business in chemicals and industrials into automotive manufacturing, with plans to make a 4x4 vehicle styled as natural replacement for the Land Rover Defender, the iconic off-roader that was retired by Jaguar Land Rover in 2014.

For its car foray — called “Projekt Grenadier” after the Grenadier pub in London where Sir Jim conceived the idea — Ineos has already signed contracts with former Mercedes division MBTech for the engineering of the project, as well as Magna for the chassis, suspension and powertrain development.

A decision on the ultimate manufacturing location — a toss-up between two UK sites and a number in continental Europe — is expected within months, one of a series of choices for Ineos about whether to invest in the UK.

Ineos group director Tom Crotty said that Germany was chosen as the location for engineering work on the vehicle due to the country’s “reliability” when it came to automotive manufacturing, an attribute the Defender was notorious for lacking.

“We will have to make a decision on the factory by the end of the year,” said Mr Crotty.

The company has been speaking with manufacturers to produce engines, and is targeting petrol, diesel and a plug-in hybrid engine for the vehicle.

It is also considering a number of sites in Germany, one in eastern Europe, and two locations in Britain. A final decision will be taken in the coming months. Its preferred UK site is the old SSI facility in Teesside, which has port access as well as installed power infrastructure.

The car project is a personal passion for Sir Jim, who decided to develop a new vehicle from scratch after his early approach to purchase the intellectual rights and designs for the defunct Defender were rebuffed by JLR. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

and he will play off the EU and UK and it will be paid for by us the taxpayer ! FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

well the first pictures of something other than the hacked RRS prototypes have appeared.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-car...blic-roads

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/land-rover/d...iconic-4x4

just looks like a slightly redesigned Discovery on the surface

Are you sure that it is not just a FL2 in a cardboard jacket?

The glass angles and wheelbase make it look as if earlier guesses may have been right about it's shape.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=land+rov..._H_wQOy2M: FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 79k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

My next car  MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
MY15 Xenon Headlight Conversion

MY17 RRS SVR - Estoril Blue Cirrus/Ebony 🪣💺’s

wrong post

Interesting!

Hard to deduce much from the pictures, but my observations:

Windscreen looks more upright than the rest of the current line up

Side hinged rear door

What's going on with the exhaust silencers? No spare wheel under there!

Slightly squarer wheel arches

Roof line is probably disguised, but top of the door shut lines look quite square

Why the hell can't we have a split rear door?
Side opener was the one and only gripe I had with my old Grand Vitara awkward !! If it wasn't so bad it'd be funny.

🐑
Freelander 2 HSE auto 2014 ( Florrie ) ..... Try again.
Freelander 2 GS 2012...... Gone.

Can’t win I guess! If they made it a split tailgate folk would moan that they wanted the tradional side hinge rear door  MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
MY15 Xenon Headlight Conversion

MY17 RRS SVR - Estoril Blue Cirrus/Ebony 🪣💺’s

if they are planning on putting the spare wheel on the rear door then a split tailgate wouldn't work unless the wheel was on a swing away carrier, meaning extra expense.

this way the wheel can be fixed to the door (expect dropped hinges over time) or can go underneath like the rest of the range, or maybe even in the boot floor like FL2. Either way id expect a proper spare to be a cost option !

it cant have a split rear door as people would like to be able to reach into the boot, At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race