Text | ?Teng Xiaolei
Produced by Che Tuteng, please indicate the source when reprinting
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For real For rich people, it is normal to spend some money on the things they like.
For example, Facebook CEO Zuckerberg and his wife recently sent checks of US$100,000 each to eight of their favorite Asian restaurants because these restaurants were affected by the epidemic. Subsequently, it faced the threat of closure.
Without exception, these restaurant owners felt unbelievable when they received the news. It was not until Zuckerberg's $100,000 check appeared in front of them that they slowly chose to accept it and express their gratitude.
In the automotive industry, there are similar stories.
And compared to Zuckerberg spending $800,000 to eat his favorite dishes, this old man named Jim Ratcliffe (Jim Ratcliffe), for I spent ￡600 million to drive my favorite car!
Yes, that’s right, it’s really 600 million pounds, or about 5.28 billion yuan! Moreover, the story of this rich man is even more exciting, and even a little bizarre in the eyes of ordinary people.
(Jim? Ratcliffe)
First, let me sort out the ins and outs of this story.
Recently, Land Rover's new Defender has launched pre-sales in China. Although the new car's shape is still rugged, compared with the old Land Rover Defender that has been discontinued, it does not appear tough enough and is much more rounded overall. Yes, I also prefer the old Defender and the old Discovery.
This feeling is like those celebrities. After not seeing each other for a while, the handsome guy suddenly turns into a greasy uncle, which makes it difficult for old fans to accept it for a while.
And Jim Ratcliffe happens to be a fan of the previous generation Land Rover Defender.
Since January 29, 2016, the last Land Rover Defender 90 Heritage Soft Top Edition rolled off the production line and announced the discontinuation of this legendary model, Jim Ratcliffe seems to have fallen into madness. He didn't understand, how could such a cool, good-looking, and hard-core off-road vehicle not be built?
In line with the principle of having money and willfulness, Jim Ratcliffe decided to spend his own money to rebuild the old Land Rover Defender that has been discontinued.
Building a car is not an easy task, and those who can spend 600 million pounds to build a car are definitely not ordinary people! Jim Ratcliffe became the richest man in the UK in 2018 with a net worth of ￡21.05 billion. He himself is the founder of the British INEOS Petrochemical Group and an out-and-out oil tycoon.
Not only that, he also has a wide range of interests. In addition to being passionate about Land Rover Defenders, he also likes to collect motorcycles, and for this purpose he acquired a manufacturer of motorcycle leather jackets.
Sports are also his hobby, and he also has a bicycle team under his name; as an old Manchester United fan, he also planned to acquire the team.
Of course, in order to build the same model, he established a car company called INEOS and recruited a group of professionals with huge sums of money, determined to build his own car.
But problems also arise. Resurrecting the old Land Rover Defender requires corresponding molds. So Jim Ratcliffe took the money to find Land Rover. Seeing the crazy behavior of this "illegitimate fan", Land Rover would definitely not agree. Not only will they not sell him molds, they are also preparing to apply for appearance patents for older models.
Fortunately, the British patent department believed that this model did not have a unique style and rejected the application. This is indeed the case. Although the old Land Rover has a highly recognizable appearance, with a domineering front face and tough body lines, these characteristics are also found in the hardcore off-road bodies of Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi and other car brands.
As the story evolved, Jim Ratcliffe’s original intention changed from resurrecting the old Land Rover Defender to building the most hardcore off-road vehicle.
However, because of his preference for the Land Rover Defender, he still does not forget to add relevant elements to his own models. In an interview, Jim Ratcliffe not only admitted this generously, but also said that in addition to the old Land Rover Defender, he had also made reference to Nissan Patrol, Jeep, Toyota HiLux, Land Cruiser, Ford Bronco, etc.
The following is the official picture of the new car Grenadier owned by INEOS Motor 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 truck version. The overall shape is indeed tough, but it does not lose the unique gentlemanly style of British cars.
Grenadier is developed on a new platform, focusing on all-terrain off-road, so it is still a non-load-bearing chassis. The four-wheel drive system is quite powerful, and it also has all the off-road configurations such as part-time four-wheel drive and differential locks. In terms of power, the new car will be equipped with a BMW 3.0T inline six-cylinder engine, and 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 40,000 pounds.
Currently, this model will enter a one-year road test of 1.8 million kilometers, followed by performance and durability testing. The new car will be assembled in the Bridgend area of ??South Wales, UK, with an estimated annual production capacity of 25,000 vehicles. Interestingly, the new plant is located next to the Ford engine plant that closed just last year.
The chassis and body of the Grenadier are completed at the Estarreja plant in Portugal. INEOS Automobile Company plans to build more than ten factories in Europe in the future to build cars while also helping to increase local jobs.
Now, INEOS Automotive Company has more than 200 employees, including many well-known designers. The oil tycoon Jim Ratcliffe has also spent 600 million pounds on this car-building project, and this number will obviously be even greater in the future.
Let’s look back at this story: Jim Ratcliffe’s transformation from an original Land Rover Defender enthusiast to a car-making boss may be attributed to Land Rover’s initial obstruction of him.
I just don’t know if the launch of INEOS Motor Company’s hardcore off-road vehicle Grenadier will affect the status of Land Rover’s new Defender.
In short, this is a legendary story of a willful rich man and an old Land Rover Defender and a car worth 600 million pounds.
Then the question is, if a batch of those classic old cars in China were rebuilt, would you pay for them?
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.