Rolls-Royce unveiled its first crossover

10 May 2018

Diamond among SUVs

Early in the environment of aristocratic British cars there was a clear distribution segments: the main supplier of passenger cars for the garage, her Majesty served as Rolls-Royce, while the SUV was issued a Land Rover (along with appearing a bit later in the Range Rover sub-brand). It seemed that it always will be. However, rampant fashion on expensive crossovers are not bypassed and Rolls-Royce. All became clear after the release of the Bentley Bentayga. Now announced its first competitor is the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.

The novelty has received the name in honor of the largest ever rough diamond, discovered in 1905 in the mine, Thomas Cullinan, located in South Africa. Once the sir Henry Royce (Henry Royce) said: "Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, will create it". This quote should be fully fit and new models.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan has truly gigantic dimensions. SUV stretch for 5 341 mm in length, 2 164 mm in width and 1 835 mm in height. The new product is substantially superior to the Bentley Bentayga: the body of "compatriot" in short as much as 200 mm. On the market there are only a few of the larger models: the long-base version of the Cadillac Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban and Lincoln Navigator.

Despite the fact that Cullinan is a fundamentally new model for Rolls-Royce, from a technical point of view, so there is not too many surprises. It is based on the aluminum platform of the Phantom sedan, the eighth generation (from 2017). Under the hood lurks a 6.75-liter V12 with twin turbo. The power and torque remained the same 571 horsepower and 850 N·m. the Transmission is a ZF eight-speed automatic with all-wheel drive.

While the manufacturer does not publish data on acceleration, top speed is limited at around 250 km/h. Engineers are proud of the revised self-leveling air-suspension Magic Carpet Ride. It is designed to preserve the highest level of comfort even on the rough roads.

While the British did not disclose the price of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. The rumor says that the base price tag will set in the region of £250 000. Interesting point: despite the fact that the new crossover is functionally above the Phantom saloon, the latter is more expensive: from £320 000. At the same the same the Bentley Bentayga you can buy for about half of this amount.