The New Land Rover Defender Wishes It Could Safari Like This

The game this one is meant to show you has four legs and can tear your face off, but at least the Grenadier can do it with style, speed, and a sun shade.

Forget Porsche, This Is The Real Safari Rig
For years, modified SUVs (usually Defenders) with more seats and either larger or no windows at all to allow for better visibility have roamed the plans of sub-Saharan Africa. They were the perfect vehicle for transporting tourists on safari, exactly the market that inspired the Grenadier in the first place.

We mean that literally. Ineos chair and the man who wanted to build the Grenadier, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, was inspired to build his own 4x4 while on safari in Botswana a decade ago.

In 2022, African vehicle conversion specialist Kavango took a prototype Grenadier and gave it the safari treatment. It received a taller ride height, moved the roof-mount switch gear, and switched to a roll-back canvas top mounted to a high roll frame. Ineos liked the idea so much it bought the company a year later and made it a show car concept.

The Ineos Grenadier Game Viewer by Ineos Kavango is the end result. The SUV will be sold in long and extra-long wheelbase models. The extra length will allow for seating of up to nine passengers, with the back row mounted high-up above the rest for better visibility.

Ineos will send its vehicles from its factory in France to Kavango in Botswana as partially completed kits. They won't have paint, tailgates, or seats, and they'll be missing the roof and side glass – all parts Kavango will ditch when it cuts the entire roof off to replace it with the safari parts.

This Is Strictly A Commercial Vehicle
The Game Viewer is serious business. It's meant to be used by commercial customers, namely game reserves, safari lodges, and even some ranches and estates in the US. Because of that, Ineos is tweaking the warranty to let those remotely located customers do their own work. Ineos will even train bush mechanics.

Ineos plans to put the first four into service next month. The first customer is an ultra-luxury retreat in South Africa called Hidden Lodge, which will get four. Those helped Ineos Kavango finish its production process, which will go online early next year.

Aside from the stretched wheelbase, the Grenadier doesn't get many changes to become a Game Viewer. The choice of gas and diesel engines, both 3.0-liter units from BMW, remain. The eight-speed automatic and the proper low-range transfer case are in place.

Would you pick one of those over one of the company's usual conversions like a 70 Series Toyota Land Cruiser? Well, Ineos Kavango will at least give you a choice. It looks like the conversion company will keep performing its other conversions for now. This just gives safari operators a new choice.