Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
The SUV to rule all SUVs as far as luxury is concerned. Or “all-terrain, high-sided vehicle” in Rolls-Royce jargon. That’s the Cullinan for you, or whatever it will be called once the veil will be taken off in the summer.
The information comes from Automotive News, which claims the Phantom’s high-riding brother will be shown in “closed-room events starting this summer.” As for the world premiere of the Cullinan, that’s set for late in the summer, with sales to start at the end of 2018 for MY 2019.
We’ve first heard Rolls-Royce jumping on the utility vehicle bandwagon back in 2013, with confirmation coming in 2015 through an open letter. A preview showing the pre-production Cullinan followed in 2016, and based on the latest photographic evidence, development is almost finished.
Shorter than the Phantom VIII, the Cullinan shares the Architecture of Luxury with world’s most luxurious sedan. It’s an all-aluminum spaceframe that’s 30% more rigid than the previous platform, and according to R-R, it’s designed around the concept of “magic carpet ride.”
Augmented by air suspension that varies the electronically controlled shock absorbers in milliseconds, the Cullinan relies on a stereo camera integrated into the windshield. The system sees the imperfections in the road proactively, making adjustments at speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph).
The Cullinan will easily break the 100 km/h thanks to a twin-turbo V12. Mated to an eight-speed transmission, the 6.75-liter powerplant is rated 900 Nm (664 pound-feet) at 1,700 rpm and 571 PS (563 horsepower) in the Phantom.
On the matter of pricing, it’s likely the Cullinan will slot between the entry-level Ghost ($311,900) and range-topping Phantom ($417,825). The size of the Cullinan is another indicator of its position in the lineup, so yeah, $350,000-plus doesn’t seem unfathomable as the starting price.
Regarding what’s next for Rolls-Royce, director of engineering Philip Koehn had the following to say at the launch of the Phantom VIII: “Project Cullinan and eventually the next Ghost, Wraith, Dawn will ride on this architecture."
We’ve first heard Rolls-Royce jumping on the utility vehicle bandwagon back in 2013, with confirmation coming in 2015 through an open letter. A preview showing the pre-production Cullinan followed in 2016, and based on the latest photographic evidence, development is almost finished.
Shorter than the Phantom VIII, the Cullinan shares the Architecture of Luxury with world’s most luxurious sedan. It’s an all-aluminum spaceframe that’s 30% more rigid than the previous platform, and according to R-R, it’s designed around the concept of “magic carpet ride.”
Augmented by air suspension that varies the electronically controlled shock absorbers in milliseconds, the Cullinan relies on a stereo camera integrated into the windshield. The system sees the imperfections in the road proactively, making adjustments at speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph).
The Cullinan will easily break the 100 km/h thanks to a twin-turbo V12. Mated to an eight-speed transmission, the 6.75-liter powerplant is rated 900 Nm (664 pound-feet) at 1,700 rpm and 571 PS (563 horsepower) in the Phantom.
On the matter of pricing, it’s likely the Cullinan will slot between the entry-level Ghost ($311,900) and range-topping Phantom ($417,825). The size of the Cullinan is another indicator of its position in the lineup, so yeah, $350,000-plus doesn’t seem unfathomable as the starting price.
Regarding what’s next for Rolls-Royce, director of engineering Philip Koehn had the following to say at the launch of the Phantom VIII: “Project Cullinan and eventually the next Ghost, Wraith, Dawn will ride on this architecture."
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