Jim ratcliffe
Last summer, reports emerged of the plans of British
billionaire Jim Ratcliffe to resurrect
the iconic Land Rover Defender that went out of production the previous
January.
Ratcliffe, the chairman and founder of British chemicals
giant Ineos, had been in talks with Jaguar Land Rover about buying the
Defender’s intellectual property rights or some of its tooling to restart
production. But with Land Rover planning a
modern Defender for 2018, those talks didn’t progress far.
Determined to bring to market a rugged, utilitarian
off-roader like the Defender and target mining explorers, forestry workers and
farmers, as well as off-road enthusiasts, Ratcliffe enlisted a team of experts
to determine whether Ineos could go about developing the vehicle itself.
Ratcliffe has since confirmed that after conducting a
six-month feasibility study, the project has been given the green light. The
goal is to develop a vehicle like the Defender minus shortcomings such as poor
drivability and outdated emissions and safety standards, and have it ready in
the next two to three years.
“I am a great admirer of the old Land Rover Defender and
have enormous respect for its off road capability,” Ratcliffe said in a
statement. “But whilst our off-roader might share its spirit, our new car will
be a major improvement on previous models.”
Handing the development will be a new division at Ineos
dubbed Ineos Automotive. The division will be headed by Dirk Heilmann, formerly
head of engineering and technology at the chemicals giant.
Ineos is currently searching for a suitable manufacturing
location either in the United Kingdom or other European options. The company is
hoping to build between 15,000 and 20,000 units annually. It's too early to
talk pricing but Ineos has hinted at a starting price of less than $65,000.
Crucially, the vehicle will be sold worldwide.
source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1105070_british-billionaire-confirms-plan-to-build-defender-like-suv
by Vinesh Vijayenthiran
http://www.boscheuropean.com
No comments:
Post a Comment