While Bentley is only two years away from releasing its first SUV, Rolls-Royce is more cautious about its entry to the segment, with a decision on this subject not taken yet.
However, should a Rolls-Royce SUV ever appear, it will redefine that kind of segment, a company executive said. “The SUV story has become a big story without needing to. We’re considering it, our design people are thinking about it and coming up with some ideas. But it needs to be right, and it needs to be a Rolls-Royce,” Andrew Boyle, Rolls-Royce’s global product communications manager, told Top Gear.
Boyle said the company is still pondering the pros and cons on introducing a super-luxury SUV – an acronym Rolls-Royce is not very fond of. “Frankly, an SUV is probably a misnomer for this car, because Rolls-Royce is certainly not utility, so it’s not going to be that kind of car. We’re still looking at what might be right, what might be wrong,” Boyle said.
Obviously, he was referring to the discussion on whether an SUV is appropriate for a prestige brand like Rolls-Royce. “Who knows, Rolls Royce regularly redefines what it does, so we may well redefine that kind of segment. We might just create something that people might not necessarily assume is an SUV,” the executive added.
As for Bentley’s upcoming SUV, Boyle said it is not a concern for Rolls-Royce, as it doesn’t belong to the same “super luxury category” as the products coming from Goodwood.
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