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For real local tyrants, it is normal to spend some money on things you like.
For example, how is Facebook recently? CEO Zuckerberg and his wife gave their favorite eight Asian restaurants a check of $65.438 billion each, because these restaurants were unsustainable due to the epidemic and threatened to close down.
Without exception, these restaurant owners felt incredible when they received the news. It was not until Zuckerberg's check for $654.38 million appeared in front of them that they slowly chose to accept it and expressed their gratitude.
There is a similar story in the car circle.
Compared with Yuzuckerberg, who paid $800,000 to eat his favorite dishes, this man named Jim? The old man in ratcliffe (Jim ratcliffe) spent 600 million pounds to drive his favorite car!
Yes, that's right, it's really 600 million pounds, about 5.28 billion yuan! Moreover, the story of this local tyrant is even more exciting. In the eyes of ordinary people, there are even some bizarre stories.
(Jim? Ratcliffe)
Let me help you sort out the ins and outs of this story first.
Recently, the new Land Rover Defender launched the domestic pre-sale. Although the new model is still relatively rough, it is not tough enough compared with the old Land Rover Defender that has been discontinued, and it is much rounder as a whole. Yes, the author also prefers old guards and old discoveries.
This feeling is like those stars. I haven't seen them for a while, and the handsome guy suddenly becomes a greasy uncle, which makes it difficult for old fans to accept it for a while.
Where's Jim Ratcliffe happened to be an avid fan of the last generation of Land Rover Defenders.
Last Land Rover Defender 90 since 2065438+0665438+129 October? Heritage? Soft? The top version went offline and announced that this legendary model was discontinued, Jim? Ratcliffe seems to have gone mad. He doesn't understand, why not build such a cool, beautiful and hard-core off-road vehicle?
On the principle of being rich and willful, Jim? Ratcliffe decided to rebuild the old Land Rover Defender with his own money.
Building a car is not an easy task. People who can pay 600 million pounds to build a car are definitely not ordinary people! Jim. Ratcliffe became the richest man in Britain in 20 108 with a net asset of 2 105 billion. And he himself is the founder of the out-and-out oil tycoon Ineos Petrochemical Group.
Not only that, he also has a wide range of interests. In addition to being keen on Land Rover Defenders, he also likes to collect motorcycles, so he bought a manufacturer that produces motorcycle leather clothes.
Sports is also his hobby, and there is a cycling team under his name; As an old Manchester United fan, he also intends to buy this team.
Naturally, in order to build the same model, he set up a car company called INEOS, and recruited a group of professionals with heavy money, determined to build his own car.
However, problems have also arisen, and the resurrection of the old Land Rover Defender needs corresponding molds. Where's Jim Ratcliffe went to Land Rover with the money. Seeing the crazy behavior of "pestering Fan", Land Rover will definitely not agree. Not only do we not sell him molds, but we are also going to apply for the old model's appearance patent.
Fortunately, the British patent department thought that this model had no unique style and rejected the application. That's true. Although the old Land Rover is highly recognizable in appearance, its front face is domineering and its body lines are tough, the hard-core off-road vehicles of Jeep, Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi also have these characteristics.
As the story develops, Jim? Ratcliffe's original intention changed from reviving the old Land Rover Defender to making the hardest off-road vehicle by himself. However, out of his love for Land Rover Defender, he still did not forget to add relevant elements to his model. In the interview, Jim? Ratcliffe not only admitted this generously, but also said that he had consulted Nissan Toure, Jeep, Toyota HiLux, Land Cruiser and Ford Mustang. Except for the old Land Rover Defender.
The following is the official map of the new car Grenadier of Ineos Automobile Company. It can be clearly felt that this model can be regarded as the spiritual sequel of the old Land Rover Defender.
There is also a pickup version, the overall shape is really tough, but it does not lose the unique gentleman style of British cars.
Grenadier adopts a brand-new research and development platform, focusing on all-terrain off-road, so it is still a non-loaded chassis, with a powerful four-wheel drive system, part-time four-wheel drive, differential lock and other off-road configurations. In terms of power, the new car will be equipped with a BMW 3.0T inline six-cylinder engine, and it will be available in diesel and gasoline versions. The transmission system will match ZF's 8AT gearbox. The new car is expected to be launched in the second half of next year, with a starting price of about 40 thousand pounds.
At present, this model will enter a one-year road test of 6.5438+0.8 million kilometers, followed by performance and durability tests. The assembly of the new car will be carried out in Bridgend, South Wales, England, with an estimated annual production capacity of 25,000 vehicles. Interestingly, next to the new factory is the Ford engine factory, which was just closed last year.
The grenadier's chassis and body are completed at Estarreja factory in Portugal. Ineos plans to build more than ten factories in Europe in the future, which will help to increase local jobs while building cars.
Now, Ineos Automobile Company has more than 200 employees, including many well-known designers. And oil tycoon Jim? Ratcliffe also spent 600 million pounds on this automobile manufacturing project, and this figure will obviously be even bigger in the future.
Look back at this story: Jim? Ratcliffe changed from an old Land Rover defender to a car owner, which may be attributed to the initial obstruction of Land Rover.
I just don't know if the launch of the hard-core off-road vehicle grenadier of Ineos Automobile Company will affect the status of Land Rover's new defender.
In short, this is the legendary story of a wayward local tyrant, an old Land Rover defender and a 600 million-pound car.
Then the question is, will you pay for those classic cars in China if they are rebuilt?
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.