Rolls-Royce Project Cullinan SUV:First images

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SUV revealed, ahead of public testing phase

Rolls-Royce has issued another update on the development of its upcoming SUV, revealing the Project Cullinan mule wearing an SUV body for the first time. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is undergoing final testing before it goes on sale in 2018. 

The new photographs mark a key milestone in the car’s development – all of our previous glimpses at Rolls’ ultra luxurious 4x4 have all been of the car wearing a Phantom shaped disguise, rather than the taller, more imposing car teased here.

The pictures have been released to mark the beginning of pubic testing. From tomorrow, Rolls will develop its SUV on public roads, so expect plenty of spy shots revealing the car in greater detail soon.

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Just after Christmas this development mule will travel north to take part in cold weather testing in the Arctic Circle. At the opposite end of the scale, it’ll be also tested in extreme heat, travelling to the Middle East later on in 2017. 

Dubbed 'project Cullinan' and likely to use that name for production, this is the British luxury brand's first high-riding model. In its press release Rolls-Royce says that the Cullinan is officially set to be "assessed on public roads in various locations around the world". The testing phase will ensure the SUV still "delivers Rolls-Royce's trademark 'magic-carpet' ride on a variety of surfaces and that it is resilient to extreme weather conditions".

 

Rolls-Royce confirmed development of an all-new aluminium architecture for the Cullinan earlier this year. The new platform will also eventually be used for a next-generation Phantom, and the announcement that production of the current model has stopped confirms this. An all-new suspension system is being primed for the production Cullinan too, alongside the all-wheel-drive system.  

Speaking to Auto Express at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Muller-Otvos revealed that the upcoming Rolls-Royce SUV would be launched in the first half of 2018.

He was confident about the progress being made on developing the brand's first high-riding SUV model, although he prefers to call it an all terrain vehicle. 

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He also hinted that the newcomer will be called Cullinan, currently only the codename of the car – it was named after the world’s largest rough diamond. Asked if Rolls might adopt the name, Muller-Otvos smiled and said: “I love the name.”

And in a direct dig at Bentley, which is describing its new Bentayga as the "best SUV in the world", he added: “The Bentley SUV is clearly the number two; Rolls-Royce is the best in the world and will be when our model arrives. We will bring a great new car, and an authentic Rolls-Royce into the market.”

If the Bentayga's initial success is anything to go by, there's no doubt this could be the strongest-selling Rolls-Royce in recent years, if not ever. But don't expect the brand to adopt a mass-market pricing strategy: this is still very much a bespoke, hand-made car and the price will definitely reflect that.