The rumor of an SUV from one of luxury’s mightiest brands has been kicking around for about three years now. Today, the folks at Rolls-Royce confirmed they will be calling it the Cullinan. Hey, at least it’s better than Urus.
In the spirit of not playing by any rules whatsoever, Rolls is referring to the Cullinan as a “high-bodied car.” Well, then. *adjusts monocle*
“The name Cullinan has been hiding in plain sight since we revealed it as the project name some years ago,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer of Rolls-Royce, in an official statement from the company. “It is the most fitting name for our extraordinary new product.”
Deploying words such as flawless, quality, and preciousness, Rolls is not simply flinging around pithy phrases, but is intentionally evoking thoughts of expensive diamonds. Gems do certainly align with the brand but, more importantly, the largest flawless diamond ever found was called the Cullinan diamond. Good company to keep, then.
Ever since the oddly styled Bentley Bentayga arrived for the 2016 model year, a Roller SUV was all but a certainty. You just knew there was no way its former stablemate was going to let it get away with cashing in on the SUV boom all by itself.
Spy shots provided by the manufacturer (so they’re not really spy shots at all, actually) show a familiar-ish two box shape with a large and upright chrome snout like that which is found on the Phantom. Unconfirmed reports bouncing around the web peg the Cullinan’s length in excess of 218 inches, more than a foot longer than the Bentayga. Could the Rolls seat seven?
Perhaps there will be two available interior configurations from the factory, resting on the same platform. One could be the seven-passenger model mentioned above, while the other could ditch the third row in favor of two thrones pushed rearward for maximum legroom and levels of luxury heretofore unseen in the SUV game. That’s all speculation, of course, but certainly not too far fetched if that length dimension is even close to correct.
Expect to find a V12 under the bonnet hood when the Cullinan reaches market. Given today’s concern for Johnny Polar Bear, a plug-in hybrid is a good bet, too. The company didn’t get into plebian details such as price or release date.
Last month, Rolls Royce sold about 100 vehicles in America, so any addition to the lineup – especially of the SUV variety – will surely result in a significant sales bump. Ones thing’s for sure: with the newly refreshed G-Wagen, Bentayga, and Urus, the world’s 1 percent will be spoilt for choice when choosing their next bus for the school run.
[Images: Rolls-Royce]
The first thing I associate with Cullinan is culinary, which leads me to the rich guy in the back of a Roller question: pardon me do you have any Grey Poupon?
but this is aimed at the owner who does not say “pardon me” but “HOOOOOOO Gives me my mustarads [email protected]#[email protected]#”
“Jeeves, have Fletcher bring the Cully around, pip-pip.”
Blasphemy.
“the largest flawless diamond ever found was called the Cullinan”
Of course it was. And now the clumsy name makes sense. Shine on, Britannia, you’re still the brightest in the firmament. Rule, Britannia!
“concern for Johnny Polar Bear”
Someone’s been watching Jeremy Clarkson
Ummm, Volvo called. They want their profile back.
I was thinking Subaru. Particularly Forester. Regardless, it’s good to see another stilt wagon with a reasonably sized and shaped greenhouse. Looks like they’ve been taking styling cues from those preeminent luxury goods designers of the age, rappers. Slammed, pimped out, Rover and all…..
Wonder how long it is. RRs traditional clientele of chauffeured nobles and oil sheikhs probably couldn’t care less, but the new rich buying at least the Bentayga, are at least as likely to live, hence park, in a dense, urban area, as in castles and country manors. In San Francisco, as in any larger coastal city, plenty of houses priced well into RR owner territory, lacks bays long enough to park the Phantom.
(Facepalm)
In my part of the US, it sounds like a Culligan water softener. Which as we all know is exactly what we want to think of when we think of a high-end crossover, er, tall car, um, “high-bodied car.”
One can cut the pretension with a chainsaw.
My first thought about the name as well. Change one letter and it’s a water softener company.
I remember the ads well. “Hey Culligan man!”
If you speak properly posh, it does roll of the tongue quite nicely….
Wonder if any luxury goods marketer, have gotten around to hire linguists and language Ph.Ds yet, to help them come up with product names that maximize the difference between how someone posh would pronounce it, versus someone proles?
This is the reason for the name “Jaguar.”
Posh: “JAG-yew-uh.”
British prole: “Jehg-yew-ah.”
US prole: “JAG-wahr.”
Northeast US prole: “jag-WYE-er.”
“Hey Cullinan man!”
(:: Shakes head, drops mic! ::)
I have a hard time dealing with this, and a Bentayga. They’ve taken the unique forms of their cars and molded them into generic CUV form. It doesn’t look special anymore.
Actually their proportions are similar to the Rolls and Bentley models of the 1950’s and 60’s the only difference is the cropped rear with a tailgate.
Their cars have gotten more and more Generic German Luxury Car as well. On the outside as well, but particularly on the inside.
Makes sense, as both Bentley and Rolls ARE German now.
(Rolls = BMW, Bentley = VAG)
Definitely what Judge Smails needs to drive in any Caddyshack remake.
“That is not an SUV, it is a High Bodied Car you idiot!”
Post of the day nomination!
I assume the Kardashian’s producer has ordered a fleet of these for the tv series….time to turn in those G-Wagons.
The CUV/SUV is now the default car. Sedans (as much as I love them) are increasingly seen as an anachronism favored by old people.
I expect in another decade Rolls’s lineup will consist of two CUV/SUV and one sedan, rather than the other way around.
Occasionally I’ll go to Auto Trader and see what the oldest NEW vehicle I can find listed on the site. It’s almost always a sedan – lots of 2017 MY Lacrosse, Impala, and Maxima sitting on lots within a 300 mile radius of my area.
My wife called this not long after I met her in 2010. For some reason she’s rarely wrong when it comes to mass consumer sentiment about cars, and I think she’s started to hate sedans more than minivans. She likes the LX570 I just bought waaaaaaay better than the equally nice LS460 it replaced. For smaller cars, hatchbacks are OK, but trunks are not.
Of one thing we can be sure: neither Rolls-Royce nor its cadre of high-roller customers who can actually afford this high-riding car, give a single ratf**k what any bunch of proles think about this vehicle.
Eat your hearts out, serfs of the world, and remember, really rich people work harder and are far superior intellectual mutations of the slovenly humans clogging up a great deal of global acreage. Every really obscenely wealthy person innately knows this.
“Make mine a Cullinan Supreme Boudoir,” said the Sheik of El Qazir. “I do have a small harem.”
Makes a better name for a vehicle than naming it after the Hope diamond.
I’m ashamed to admit I’m beginning to think I might like the looks of this beast.
I’m seeing shades of the early-mid ’60s Silver Clouds, big tall sedans. These just have a square back end and a hatch.