For the past year or so, we’ve been watching
Rolls-Royce working on its new crossover under the handle Project Cullinan. Now the automaker has confirmed that its forthcoming sport-utility vehicle will
indeed be called Cullinan. The name is borrowed from a diamond unearthed in South Africa in 1905.
The British automaker has steered clear of using
terminology like “crossover” or “SUV” to refer to the vehicle under
development, preferring to call it a “high-sided vehicle.” Regardless, it is
expected to adopt all-wheel driver and a tal wagon bodystyle to take aim at the Bentley Bentayga at the very top of the fast-growing luxury
crossover marketplace.
Following the release of the new Phantom, the
Cullinan will also be the second vehicle to be based upon the company’s new aluminum
spaceframe architecture. The successors to the current Ghost, Wraith, and Dawn
are expected to borrow the same platform as well.
To accompany the name announcement, Rolls-Royce has
released a series of new photos of the prototype undergoing testing. But
camouflaged as the prototypes still are, they show little more than we’ve seen
from the continuous stream of spy shots we’ve seen to date.
