To meet customer demand for a higher-riding vehicle with more passenger space, Rolls-Royce has spent the last several years developing a “high-bodied car” it calls the Cullinan. But since there will be nothing sporty nor utility-focused about the Cullinan, you better not call it an SUV. And according to one executive, you shouldn’t compare it to the Bentley Bentayga, either.
Speaking to Automotive News, Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, Rolls-Royces’ CEO, said the British automaker won’t assemble the Cullinan with “mass-manufactured body shells.” According to Mueller-Oetvoes, “that limits what you can do on the design side, and it undermines exclusivity massively.”
He then took aim at Volkswagen-owned Bentley, saying, “you don’t want a camouflaged [Audi] Q7 in that segment. You want to have a true Rolls-Royce.”
Well, OK then.
We reached out to Bentley to see what it had to say about its quarter-million-dollar Bentayga being called a camouflaged Q7, but its spokesperson declined to comment.
Early rumors suggested that the Cullinan would be based on a heavily modified BMW 7 Series platform, but it will instead be built on the new “Architecture of Luxury” platform that Rolls-Royce developed for the new Phantom. Expect it to offer similar over-the-top luxury and a base price that begins well into six-figure territory. With production expected to begin toward the end of 2018, look for the Cullinan to debut later this year.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)
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