A British billionaire's dream of bringing back Land Rover's iconic Defender is edging closer to reality, with some German backing.
Mercedes-Benz-owned German engineering firm MBtech has announced it has signed a contract with British firm Ineos Automotive to commence the development of the "son of Land Rover Defender", AKA 'Projekt Grenadier'.
Brainchild of petrochemical and industrialist, Jim Ratcliffe, "Projekt Grenadier" will be well funded, with the Brit billionaire announcing he was preparing to invest $A1 billion of his own personal fortune to fill the void left by the 68-year old off-roader.
Ineos, the new car brand created by Ratcliffe, will release early sketches of its rugged new SUV later this year. Final specification of the spiritual successor to the Defender, Ineos says, will also be locked down as soon as the middle of 2018, ahead of a 2020 launch.
MBtech will be tasked with creating a small tough SUV as capable and rugged as a Defender with the "reliability of a Toyota LandCruiser".
It's not known whether MBtech, which was established by the German car maker back in 1995, plans to source powertrains from Mercedes-Benz or will look further afield to fulfil its objectives.
Ineos hopes to make around 25,000 SUVs when production commences in 2020, each vehicle priced at around $60,000. Ratcliffe says he's already in negotiations with the British government to source state funding for a UK-based factory, but has not ruled out production elsewhere in Europe if it is more cost effective.
Before MBtech joined forces with Ineos, 3.0-litre diesel, 4.0-litre petrol and even hybrid powertrains were on the cards, following the announcement the fledgling British car maker had recruited a team of 200 engineers.
Like all the best ideas, the plan to resurrect the Defender originally came to Ratcliffe when sharing a pint in a pub.
Initially fuelling the billionaire's determination to remake the Defender was the knowledge that the legendary off-roader's design was not trademarked in the UK, although the iconic SUV's maker, Jaguar Land Rover, was quick to highlight that the Defender's design had been registered in many other markets it was sold in.
To avoid a costly lawsuit, the Ineos SUV will merely 'capture the spirit' of the original, rather than blatantly rip off its design.