A Rolls-Royce SUV. Pause for a moment, and you’ll realise that of the three component parts that make up that abbreviation, the only one that’s correct is the V. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is certainly a ‘vehicle’. But a ‘sports utility’ one?
Perhaps the Rolls-Royce-ness is the pre-eminent consideration. This pillar of the luxury automotive establishment has had to fight for the authenticity of this car since it was confirmed in 2015. During its development it was referred to as a ‘high-bodied’ vehicle, an amusing but historically accurate euphemism. After all, Lawrence of Arabia purloined a Rolls from some poor sap outside a Cairo nightclub for his personal transport. Others were open-bed tender vehicles, and several were armoured. During his legendary campaign against the Ottoman Turks, it’s said that none ever broke down, although many endured improvisational repairs along the way. Various other Rolls cars in the century since have certainly been big enough to rival the contemporary SUV idiom, but it’s the spirit of high achievement and ‘derring do’ that Rolls is seeking to tap into here.
‘Our answer to history, to the visionaries, adventurers, explorers and those who believe in the supremacy of liberty is the Rolls-Royce Cullinan,’ CEO Torsten Müller Ötvös says. No pressure, then.
The Cullinan’s structure uses what Rolls dubs the ‘Architecture of Luxury’, a modular aluminium spaceframe with castings in each corner and extrusions in between, as used in the latest Phantom but reconfigured here into a form that sits higher and shorter. A split tail-gate has been added to deliver the versatility demanded by this sort of vehicle, and the unique individuals who buy them.
That high body obviously results in a loftier-than-usual centre of gravity, so the Cullinan doesn’t move with the grace and poise that even the similarly heavy Phantom manages. But it’s not supposed to. Rolls has become expert in what’s known as ‘experiential luxury’, and its cars turn even the most humdrum journey into something to savour. The Cullinan extends that remit to the more remote parts of the world, and there’s an unusual and previously unknown pleasure in pointing the famous Spirit of Ecstasy off road secure in the knowledge that it can get closer than any Rolls has ever been before.
Clever self-levelling air suspension is key here: its air struts now have a bigger volume which translates to astonishing bump absorption. No off-roader erases bumps and other obstacles with the imperiousness and arrogance of the Cullinan. It lacks the extraordinary axle articulation required for the most extreme off-roading, and it won’t do the things a Mercedes G-class or Range Rover can do. But it goes far enough.
Electronically controlled dampers crunch body and wheel acceleration data in milliseconds, aided by the ‘Flagbearer’ stereo camera system that reads the road ahead. The Cullinan’s adventure mode, meanwhile, is accessed via a single button – the ‘Everywhere’ button, according to Rolls – which tweaks the traction control and uses hill descent software to tackle rutted track, gravel, wet grass, mud or snow. Its wading depth is 540mm, the deepest, claims Rolls, of any super-luxury SUV.
The Cullinan also has four-wheel steering for enhanced low-speed agility and extra stability at higher speeds, there’s a 48-volt anti-roll system, and power goes to all four wheels in a 50/50 split. It’s powered by a reworked version of the twin-turbo, 6.75-litre V12 that’s used by the Phantom limousine, making 563bhp and 627lb ft of torque from 1600rpm. The transmission is the same silky, satellite-aided ZF eight-speed automatic used by every other Rolls, but the overall effect is rather different to the experience you’ll find elsewhere in the range.
The Cullinan uses around 100kg of sound deadening material and double glazing to repel the outside world, and the way it glides down the road is majestic. But it somehow lacks the almost other-worldly atmosphere and flawless dynamism conjured by its siblings. Put bluntly, it’s not quite as special to drive as other Rolls-Royces.
It’s special inside, though. Real metal pillars connect the centre console and fascia, and there’s ‘box grain’ black leather on the dash-top, doors, and even the back of the key. The driving position is lofty, the instrument dials have pleasing analogue graphics, and the central multi-media display is now operated by a touchscreen (a first in a Rolls-Royce). Rear passengers sit higher than those in front, either in lounge configuration or in sumptuous individual chairs (it’s up to the client to decide which is for them, and there’s huge scope for personalisation).
Behind the split tailgate, the rear compartment can be specified with a Recreation Module, a motorised drawer designed according to the owner’s preferred pastime, or you can order the Viewing Suite, which stores a pair of folding leather-clad rear-facing seats and cocktail table in a special cassette.
One of Rolls-Royce’s killer USPs is the depth of the relationship it enjoys with its customer base. The Cullinan exists because Rolls’ patrons told the company they’d buy an SUV if the company made one. Well, they have and they will. The challenge for Rolls was to create an SUV replete with its remarkable brand values. In terms of its engineering, build quality, and capability, the Cullinan succeeds. But character is much more difficult to quantify, and it’s here that the giant Rolls misses the mark. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, that new Mercedes G63 looks even more compelling.
