Is it overselling it to suggest that the old Land Rover Defender ranked among the most frequently and comprehensively modified cars in the world? Given the thriving aftermarket devoted to Japanese performance cars in both North America and the JDM, probably it is. But if we narrow our focus to the UK, possibly not. After all, several thriving British companies (cough*Twisted*cough) have been founded on the notion of reworking Land Rover's original idea. Bowler was so good at it (among other things) that JLR eventually acquired it. Jim Ratcliffe famously liked the car so much that he spent a small fortune on replicating its salient features so that future generations might know what it is like to bounce around a field atop a separate chassis.
It is only fitting then - and inevitable, really - that the same aftermarket scene has turned its attention to the result. You could argue that tweaking the styling of the Ineos Grenadier is like putting a hat on a hat, but Ratcliffe’s car is so committed to its impression of the veteran Defender that it lends itself to the same box of design tricks - i.e. big wheels and stuck-on arches. That, essentially, is the nettle that the Chelsea Truck Company (a subsidiary of the unapologetically in-your-face Kahn Group) has grasped here with a new styling package for the Grenadier.
Following recent efforts with what it calls a ‘series of prototype vehicle builds’, and now available to both dealers and customers, the pack includes replacement 18-inch or 20-inch RS-Forged alloy wheels, wide wheel arches, front grille, rear roof wing, and a twin exhaust system with what CTC calls its ‘signature crosshair tailpipes’. We don’t know what that means exactly, but it doesn’t matter: it’s all a means to an end, which is, of course, a much brawnier quota of visual presence for the Grenadier. From some angles we quite like it, and on the Kahn scale of such things, it’s positively subtle. Even if it does require you to make peace with those Monster Truck tyres.
“This styling package is designed to transform the Grenadier by elevating its classic design language. Each component has been specifically crafted with the end user in mind, offering simplicity in execution while delivering significant aesthetic enhancements and improvements to the vehicle,” reckons Group CEO Afzal Kahn. Quite how Ineos regards this sort of elevation is anyone’s guess (Land Rover famously hates the aftermarket, even when it pinches from it). Mr Kahn likely knows the CTC end user better than anyone, both in aesthetic requirements and what they’re happy to spend on achieving them. And on the basis that former Defender owners and new Grenadier buyers are often one and the same thing, there’s a fair chance that its latest tinkering will gain a similarly loyal following. Should you wish to take the plunge, the secondhand choice is extensive...
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