Behind the Brand - Meet Tony Warner, Dealer Principal of Warner INEOS Grenadier
January 28th, 2026
We’re continuing our Behind the Brand series with Tony Warner, Dealer Principal of Warner INEOS Grenadier, a familiar presence on the Rebelle course in just a few short years.
From early participation to supporting multiple teams, Tony and the Warner INEOS Grenadier team have steadily grown their involvement. Along the way, they helped bring the first INEOS Grenadier to the podium and continue to support competitors through vehicle prep, logistics, and on-course support.
In this conversation, Tony shares what drew him to the Rebelle, what that podium moment meant, and why community and long-term commitment matter more than any single result.
Read on to hear Tony’s perspective on the Rebelle…and what keeps him coming back!
Warner INEOS Grenadier has become a familiar name on the Rebelle. What first inspired your dealership to get involved with the rally?
Lots of things.
The Rebelle Rally and the INEOS Grenadier feel made for each other: the pace, terrain, endurance, and depth of story align naturally. We’ve followed the event since its inception.
Rebelle represents the American dream in motion. It is a culmination of lifetimes of experience and passion, condensed into a single, transformative challenge. Its roots draw from multiple countries and event formats, yet no other rally captures its spirit of endurance, precision, and purpose.
Likewise, the Grenadier was born from a global vision: combining proven components, engineering, and technology from multiple nations into a purpose-built platform. INEOS itself is a group of industries and teams entering a new space with bold conviction.
At Warner, our legacy spans generations in the automotive and transportation industries. We believe that when the right people recognize a genuine need, and when they show up with purpose, great things happen. Rebelle provides the perfect stage to prove not only the vehicle, but also the people behind it.
Ultimately, how could we not participate? It’s an unparalleled opportunity to showcase our teams, our vehicles, and our brand on one of the most demanding proving grounds on earth, a place where the human spirit, machine, and terrain meet in their purest form.
One of your teams was the first INEOS Grenadier to podium at the Rebelle Rally – congratulations! What did that milestone mean to you and your team?
It meant a great deal. Most of all, it proved what can happen when people truly apply themselves.
Our teams are cost-neutral, meaning each competitor invests their own time, discipline, and skill to compete. We simply provide the platform: a well-prepared Grenadier, logistical support, and the belief that they can perform without limits.
That podium showed that the Grenadier is a serious contender and that our approach, supporting grassroots competitors and building a community, has real impact. We hope it inspires more teams to consider the Grenadier and join our network as they experience the vehicle for themselves.
In just two years, we’ve gone from two Grenadiers in competition to four. Our long-term goal is to represent 20–30% of the total 4×4 entries, growing sustainably, but with integrity and purpose.
In 2024, you entered one team. This year, you were back supporting four. What drove that growth, and what does that say about your commitment to the rally and the community behind it?
We were proud of Susan and Elise’s 8th-place finish in 2024. It set a benchmark. They’ve clearly inspired others.
Our second team was inspired by the brand new but untested Quartermaster. We knew we had to bring it to the rally as the proving ground.
And as new customers and privateers demonstrated commitment, we couldn’t just watch from the sidelines. We contributed where we could: logistics, vehicle prep, training, and support. That collaboration created something bigger than any single team. Supporting satellite teams started a movement we plan to continue.
The Rebelle is all about endurance, precision, navigation, and teamwork. How do those same values show up in the way Warner INEOS Grenadier operates day to day?
The Rebelle refines everything it touches to endurance, focus, and humility. Success doesn’t come from luck or talent alone, but from the ability to plan ahead, adapt, and stay oriented when conditions change.
Starting a new dealership and introducing a new brand in the U.S. market required those same traits. There was no roadmap, just vision, direction, and the determination to keep moving forward. We’ve had to make short-term sacrifices for long-term outcomes, claim progress point by point, and stay disciplined even when the horizon isn’t clear.
That’s what endurance really means: commitment to the goal, contributing your best while knowing your team will do the same, and having faith that consistent effort compounds into something meaningful. Whether it’s a team reaching a hidden, desert checkpoint or a business navigating new terrain, the principle is the same. Respect time, always know where north is, and never waste momentum.
You’ve mentioned before that “Rebelle doesn’t hand out identity – it reveals it.” How does that idea connect to what the Grenadier represents as a vehicle and a brand?
The Grenadier is unapologetically purpose-built. It doesn’t rely on automation or luxury to define its worth. It’s built for people who want to drive, not just steer.
The Rebelle embodies that same philosophy. It strips away comfort and pretense, revealing capability, resilience, and character. When these women cross the finish line, they know who they are. Not because the rally gave them identity, but because it uncovered it.
What’s your go-to off-road or adventure soundtrack – the song that instantly puts you in rally mode?
Stephen Wilson Jr., Sturgill Simpson, MUSE, Radiohead, and U2. The playlist depends on the terrain, a mix of grit, reflection, and intention.
If you could take any Grenadier on a dream expedition anywhere in the world, where would you go, and who’s in the passenger seat?
Mongolia. It’s vast, raw, and still honors the nomad. I’d bring my kids and my wife, with another Grenadier or two alongside us. One with a navigator from our Rebelle team, and another with Todd and Clayton. Experiences like that are better shared.
Not only is Warner involved with the Rebelle community as a partner, but you’re also deeply rooted in your local community in Utah – engaging in initiatives beyond just selling vehicles. Can you share a bit about your own background, how you got started in the automotive world, and why local community involvement is such an important part of what you do?
I grew up with Matchbox cars in hand until I needed both to work in the parts department at our family’s Ford dealership when I turned nine (I’m fourth generation). I have worked in about every position, part-time or full-time, since then. After riding and sleeping in the back seat of a Bronco for most of my life, my dad got our family a ‘95 Land Rover Defender 90. We went to Moab, and I experienced what you could do with locking differentials. It felt like we were unstoppable despite being in an environment that was divinely created to break us. It was exhilarating in the most marvelous of places.
I’ve since spent most of my time and money building vehicles and taking them out to test them and experience what they could do and where they could take me. I’ve made many friends along the way, many of whom I consider family.
INEOS Grenadier was a blank slate passion project opportunity. I researched the product, fell in love, placed an order, found the leaders in person at an Overland Expo in Colorado and introduced myself as their future Utah Dealer.
We have always been relationship-based sellers, whether it was Freightliner Heavy Trucks, Ford SUVs, or currently Mercedes-Benz Sprinters. Serving customers and having relationships with them shapes all that we do. We take the long view to earn and maintain the relationship.
We look for community events with real impact and those that we also like to participate in. Food Banks, Adopt a Native Elder, Utah NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association, etc.). We get to be ourselves and see our customers out using the products and brands we represent. It’s all about people, getting them places and opening up experiences and opportunities – commercial and recreational.
Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of Warner INEOS Grenadier’s involvement with the Rebelle and its growing Grenadier community in the U.S.?
The transformation we see in the competitors is what excites me most. It’s fascinating to meet them early on (curious, uncertain, often carrying real challenges or heavy stories) and then watch them spend the year preparing. That process feels symbolic of life itself: a mix of learning, struggle, and growth, much like childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood condensed into a single year.
Then, over the eight or nine days of the rally, everything comes to a head. They face exhaustion, fear, and doubt, and come out refined and unshakable. Many of these women have endured serious trials in life, and the Rebelle becomes both an escape and a proving ground, a way to train, recalibrate, and return to life swinging at whatever comes next.
We hope to see dozens of Grenadiers and Quartermasters competing in the coming years. Rankings will vary, but relationships and community will endure. Our goal is to set a standard for what involvement in the Rebelle community can look like. Supportive, authentic, and forward-looking.
Ultimately, it’s an honor to witness that transformation and to know our vehicles, team, and community play even a small role in helping these women rediscover their strength and purpose. Being part of that story is a privilege.
Lastly, any words of wisdom for future Rebelles?
Preparation beats aspiration. There’s no reason you can’t – the only condition is that you choose to make it so.
