The Rolls Royce Cullinan opens a whole new chapter for the historic British luxury brand in many ways.
For starters, it’s an SUV, even if Rolls Royce insists on describing it as an “all-terrain, high-bodied car”, because even the wealthiest of customers out there apparently want one. It’s also the first Rolls Royce to feature all-wheel drive. Suffice to say, there are plenty of firsts with the Cullinan than you can shake a stick at.
Power comes from a reworked version of the 6.75-liter V12, kicking out 563hp (571PS) and 627lb-ft (850Nm) from just 1,600 rpm, giving you plenty of poke to drive across the Sahara desert and keep on driving, if you so wish.
However, there’s no low-range transfer case, not even locking differentials, though Rolls Royce says that the Cullinan will go in places most luxury SUVs wouldn’t even dream of going thanks to the clever use of its assistance systems and the specially tuned air suspension.
That air suspension is also responsible with providing the so-called ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ Rolls Royce is known for. Combine this with the practicality of a true SUV, and suddenly the Cullinan starts to make more sense than it did when we first heard about it.
So, does that make the Cullinan the undisputed king of SUVs? Let’s see what Autocar has to say about it on the video that follows.