Photo: zida_ren / Instagram
Just a decade ago, who would have thought that today you could select either a mega, ultra-luxury SUV behemoth or a stately full-size electric luxury grand tourer – both from Rolls-Royce?
Tradition is the foundation of the exotic luxury pyramid for any brand. But the automotive ones needed to adapt to their times, and making sedans, coupes, and convertibles just couldn't cut it anymore. So, not long ago, the posh Brits over at Rolls-Royce embarked on a novel journey of discovery that led to the creation of the Cullinan full-sized luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV) as the brand's first all-wheel drive model.
Even closer to our times, the transition to a more sustainable way of life (remember, the good folks over in Goodwood, England, also like to dabble with stuff like bees and solar panels) has also made them pursue their first electric vehicle as the spiritual successor of the Wraith grand tourer. Naturally, it too is done on the same 'Architecture of Luxury' platform as the iconic Phantom or the Cullinan.
Curiously, while detractors would love to say this strategic decision caused harm to the 'House of Luxury,' Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has thrived, and last year, it had its best-selling twelve months of all time. We bet that's also going to happen in 2023 as the company keeps pushing the envelope regarding what's possible and what's not.
Anyway, that probably got some folks thinking – if they could make an SUV and an EV, why not dabble with other previously untapped niches? For example, we have all seen a market for stuff like the Porsche 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, which are off-road-biased sports cars. So, how about an off-road-focused grand tourer from Rolls-Royce? Wouldn't that be something to behold?
Well, there are slim chances this might happen in real life, so cue the imaginative realm of digital car content creators to work out the details of this hypothetical scenario. So, here is Ren Zida, a senior designer at Mercedes-Benz China and a virtual artist (aka 'zida_ren' on social media) in his spare time, who has imagined the looks of such a bonkers coupe - with AI's help.
Stable Diffusion x Photoshop moments later, and we are looking at an unnamed Rolls-Royce off-road GT coupe that exudes elegance and simplicity while also looking entirely capable of ducking it out at Baja 1000 or going on an adventurous trip through the Australian outback. That's kind of counterintuitive – seeing a Rolls-Royce GT riding as high as a proper 4x4 like the Ford Bronco and still looking posh enough to take the driver and a passenger to the opera house on premiere night!
By the way, if you liked this idea, the second digital project embedded below is of a slim Mercedes-Benz 'Silver Arrow' coupe packing quad turbine engines. That's CGI fire, indeed!
Even closer to our times, the transition to a more sustainable way of life (remember, the good folks over in Goodwood, England, also like to dabble with stuff like bees and solar panels) has also made them pursue their first electric vehicle as the spiritual successor of the Wraith grand tourer. Naturally, it too is done on the same 'Architecture of Luxury' platform as the iconic Phantom or the Cullinan.
Curiously, while detractors would love to say this strategic decision caused harm to the 'House of Luxury,' Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has thrived, and last year, it had its best-selling twelve months of all time. We bet that's also going to happen in 2023 as the company keeps pushing the envelope regarding what's possible and what's not.
Anyway, that probably got some folks thinking – if they could make an SUV and an EV, why not dabble with other previously untapped niches? For example, we have all seen a market for stuff like the Porsche 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, which are off-road-biased sports cars. So, how about an off-road-focused grand tourer from Rolls-Royce? Wouldn't that be something to behold?
Well, there are slim chances this might happen in real life, so cue the imaginative realm of digital car content creators to work out the details of this hypothetical scenario. So, here is Ren Zida, a senior designer at Mercedes-Benz China and a virtual artist (aka 'zida_ren' on social media) in his spare time, who has imagined the looks of such a bonkers coupe - with AI's help.
Stable Diffusion x Photoshop moments later, and we are looking at an unnamed Rolls-Royce off-road GT coupe that exudes elegance and simplicity while also looking entirely capable of ducking it out at Baja 1000 or going on an adventurous trip through the Australian outback. That's kind of counterintuitive – seeing a Rolls-Royce GT riding as high as a proper 4x4 like the Ford Bronco and still looking posh enough to take the driver and a passenger to the opera house on premiere night!
By the way, if you liked this idea, the second digital project embedded below is of a slim Mercedes-Benz 'Silver Arrow' coupe packing quad turbine engines. That's CGI fire, indeed!
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