We know that the Rolls-Royce Cullinan has redefined luxury in the SUV space but is it actually any good off-road?
While the Cullinan starts at $325,000 in the United States, Emme Hall from CNET’s Roadshow decided to enter one in the Rebelle Rally, a 2,000-mile (3,218 km) rally for women through Nevada and California. Hall and her co-pilot competed in the crossover category and, having won last year’s event in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, were looking to repeat their success in the Cullinan.
As we’re sure you can imagine, the Cullinan doesn’t have all that much ground clearance so it’s fortunate that most of the Rebelle Rally appears to take place on sand, over dunes, and along narrow gravel trails.
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Had the event required some serious water crossings or encountered some of the obstacles you may find in a hardcore off-road trail, the British SUV may not have lasted very long.
Power is more than adequate, to say the least. Powering the Cullinan is a 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 engine churning out 592 hp and 664 lb-ft (900 Nm) of torque to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. While it can be beneficial to have lots of power when taking a vehicle off-road, weight is not a good thing. Tipping the scales at 2,753 kg (6,069 lbs), not counting all the luggage the Roadshow crew was carrying, the Cullinan is a bit of a beast.
Will the SUV’s heft see it sink into the sand and get stuck or can British engineering save the day and survive the punishment of 2,000 miles off-road? Check out the full video to find out for yourself.