Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV revealed

Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV revealed

Rolls-Royce has officially revealed the Cullinan SUV, and it looks exactly as you would have imagined it, complete with motorised banquet-hall doors and imposing grille with the “Spirit of Ecstacy” sitting on the bonnet.

While you could argue that the world didn’t need a Rolls SUV, it’s a bit obvious that the Middle East, and to a lesser extent the United States and China, were responsible for its conception. We even got a secret preview of the production car in the flesh at the Abu Dhabi dealership a couple of weeks ago, as it was brought here to be shown to potential customers, so you can guess the UAE is an important market.

Named after the largest diamond ever discovered, the Cullinan is powered by a 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12 engine that delivers 563 hp as well as 850 Nm of torque. It comes with standard all-wheel-drive, and the “off-road mode” automatically decides what type of terrain the car is driving on, to adjust the suspension and maintain the ride. There is no low-range gearing, and it can wade in water only slightly deeper than the offroad-incapable Bentley Bentayga, so it will probably manage the sand dunes only in capable hands.

Built on a new platform that’s based on the all-aluminium base of the new Phantom, the Cullinan is shorter than the Phantom in length and wheelbase, but wider and of course taller. It has the expected air suspension that is height-adjustable, and can be lowered for easier entry/exit, although curiously there are no side-steps.

The dash design and details are all similar to existing Rolls-Royce models. The rear seating is pushed back towards the boot area in keeping with the limo feel of a Rolls, and can be had in a 3-seater or 2-seater configuration for the back. The 2-seater models have a console to hold your family-size “Shani” bottles and glasses, as well as a glass partition to separate the occupants from the boot. Speaking of the boot, it can be configured to hold two motorised pull-out jump chairs for chilling on the tailgate.

Other features include heated and ventilated front seats, touch-sensitive display, four-camera view system, collision warning, Night Vision system, wireless charging, cross-traffic warning, lane departure and lane change warnings, WiFi hotspot and five USB ports.

When it hits showrooms by the end of the year, the Cullinan is expected to start at a reasonable Dhs 1.9 million, but models coming to the UAE are expected to be loaded with options already, driving up the price to Dhs 2.2 million. At that price, it has no rivals.

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Comments

  1. I’d prefer the bentayga or Range Rover autobiography over the rolls Royce any day of the month
    The cullinan has an odd exterior shape it isn’t a gem to view at and go like wow
    The interior also isn’t that special as special it’s just a copy of the other rolls Royce which seems a bit outdated by now
    I’d choose the Lamborghini urus, Bentley bentayga, Range Rover autobiography or the Porsche turbo
    While the rolls Royce has a price for 1.9 million I’m assuming I can buy all the cars that I mentioned in that price

    • I agree with Pablo
      I think it’s just the statement of driving or getting chauffeured in it otherwise it’s just not worth the price or the time as a person would go for a G wagon or Range Rover or Bentley or the Porsche
      I personally was disappointed with Bentley but I seem to like it more now as things could have been worse like this new rolls
      Disappointed with rolls Royce it used to be the definition for luxury and with the maybach suv coming I think the competitors for maybach don’t stand a chance.

  2. It’s more like crossover than proper SUV, lifted & chopped off Phantom, Range Rover is way better…. but of course it’s a statement driving around….

  3. OKAY – that’s gonna give some serious competition to luxury SUV’s. This will soon become the new national status symbol.. 😀

  4. Very lazy design effort from RR – at least an angled mordern grill would have been better.

    Hope it looks better in the flesh than in pictures

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