Photo: Rolls-Royce
In case Project Cullinan doesn't say anything to you, here's a quick refresher. When Rolls-Royce announced they'll build an SUV, the project was codenamed Cullinan.
Furthermore, Cullinan is the name of a diamond found over a century ago in South Africa. It is believed to be the largest diamond ever found and is now a part of the Crown Jewels. As you can see, there's a lot of weight that comes with that, so it was only natural for Rolls-Royce to adopt this name for one of their upcoming models.
However, Rolls-Royce officials were reluctant to using the word SUV when talking about the new model. Instead, they talked about a "high-bodied Rolls-Royce".
Today, the British carmaker published a set of pictures that show "the first key milestone in the vehicle's development programme". In other words, we get to see the first engineering prototype that will hit the streets in the coming weeks.
It was developed on a shortened Phantom Series II body and for now will only serve as a base for an all-wheel drive suspension system. Therefore, the car's dimensions could hint at the upcoming Rolls-Royce SUV, but we're being told that the mule "features no design aspects of the eventual high-sided, all-terrain motor car".
Rolls-Royce will take the test mule on a trip on various types of international road surfaces both in their facilities and on public roads. That means the car will meet Belgian Pavé, cobblestone and corrugated concrete as engineers will test noise developments and acceleration bumps among others. We're not sure RR will tell us how the testing went, but what we're really hoping to see is a glimpse of the SUV's design cues. I know, that's too much to ask right now...
However, Rolls-Royce officials were reluctant to using the word SUV when talking about the new model. Instead, they talked about a "high-bodied Rolls-Royce".
Today, the British carmaker published a set of pictures that show "the first key milestone in the vehicle's development programme". In other words, we get to see the first engineering prototype that will hit the streets in the coming weeks.
It was developed on a shortened Phantom Series II body and for now will only serve as a base for an all-wheel drive suspension system. Therefore, the car's dimensions could hint at the upcoming Rolls-Royce SUV, but we're being told that the mule "features no design aspects of the eventual high-sided, all-terrain motor car".
Rolls-Royce will take the test mule on a trip on various types of international road surfaces both in their facilities and on public roads. That means the car will meet Belgian Pavé, cobblestone and corrugated concrete as engineers will test noise developments and acceleration bumps among others. We're not sure RR will tell us how the testing went, but what we're really hoping to see is a glimpse of the SUV's design cues. I know, that's too much to ask right now...
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