All looks a little undignified, no?
Fabled and venerated British ultra-luxury automotive marque Rolls-Royce will wax lyrical about their history, what it means to the brand, and how every model it produces redefines something to someone (very rich) somewhere. We got a heavy dose of this the last time they made the news with the debut of the Phantom VIII.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is now beginning the slow-drip of information as it prepares to debut its very first SUV, which aims to bring luxury travel everywhere, effortlessly. So what’s the first bite of info?
“The name Cullinan has been hiding in plain sight since we revealed it as the project name some years ago. We were inspired by the epic processes, over many millennia, which went into the creation of the Cullinan Diamond. The name embodies the many facets of our new motor car’s promise. It speaks of endurance and absolute solidity in the face of the greatest pressures. It tells of rarity and preciousness and it alludes to the pioneering, adventurous spirit of The Honourable Charles Rolls and the engineering innovation of Sir Henry Royce. And of course, it speaks of absolute luxury, wherever you venture in the world.” — Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
The British firm says that the development of the Cullinan (which they keep referring to as a “high-bodied vehicle,” which to us, merely underlines how unfamiliar they are with the concept of an SUV) has taken the car on a journey as audacious and far-reaching as the namesake diamond. Where the stone went from South Africa to England to be presented to King Edward VII in 1907, the Cullinan SUV has gone from the harshest conditions of the Middle East, of Africa, and of the Arctic Circle, as well as the less-trying glens of the Scottish Highlands and the canyons of North America.
The Cullinan is set to be the second Rolls-Royce to be built on the ‘Architecture of Luxury,’ an all-aluminium spaceframe that first debuted with the Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII. Distinguishing itself from other carmakers, “no future Rolls-Royce will be of monocoque construction as used by mass-manufacturers.” Designed and engineered from the ground-up to be scalable to every future Rolls-Royce model, the company believes that this architecture will offer the best rigidity, weight, and refinement in all the cars it will go on to underpin, and will set it cars apart from other contemporaries in this highly-competitive ultra-luxury class.
The Cullinan is expected to pack the same “reinvented” V12 as the Phantom under the bonnet. As such, it’ll measure at six-and-three-quarter litres in capacity (6.75L), and feature two turbochargers to imbue it with 420kW and 900Nm. In the Phantom, that’s good for a century sprint time of as little as 5.3-seconds, with power going to the rear wheels via a satellite-aided eight-speed automatic. The Cullinan is expected to utilise a similar gearbox but offer an all-wheel drive system, replete with the satellite-aid (which uses GPS tracking and mapping to optimise shifts and selection of gears).
“Cullinan is the most fitting name for our extraordinary new product. Cullinan is a motorcar of such clarity of purpose, such flawless quality and preciousness, and such presence that it recalibrate the scale and possibility of true luxury. Just like the Cullinan Diamond, the largest flawless diamond ever found, it emerges when it is perfect, and exists above all others. Quite simply, the name Cullinan is perfect, and brilliant.” — Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
We expect to see the Rolls-Royce Cullinan “emerge” later this year. Stay tuned to CarShowroom for more information as it comes.
For more information on Rolls-Royce, summon your butler.
