2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan – Still a Royce

Future is certainly SUV-ish. As it seems that no car maker can resist crossover fever, we could fiercely debate whether some labels deserve that kind of heritage mutilation or not. Porsche did hurt a lot of people with Cayenne, but Lamborghini or Ferrari will soon violate feelings of much more. We are in the position that supercar brand shouldn’t even dream of offering “supercar-SUV” as those two will never go together as their natures completely cancel each other. Still, we didn’t nag when Bentayga surfaced. And neither will we when 2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan hit the roads. Why? Listen…

COMPLETELY NATURAL

When certain automotive designation dedicate itself purely to the production of supercars (and hypercars) over the course of its history and when minimal price tags don’t drop below $200k, you nurture certain expectations from that company. You demand laser-precise corner tackling, astonishing levels of agility, unimaginable levels of grip and finally astounding lap times.

Urus or future Ferrari’s SUV (whatever they name it) simply can’t beat the physics and deliver those, no matter what they do to them. On other hand, both Bentley and Rolls don’t chase those attributes. They are after ultimate luxury, aristocratic visual presence, and sublime ride comfort, and all that can be delivered by an SUV without any issues, just check the Range Rover for that sake. So, Cullinan won’t hurt Rolls image, as much as Bentayga didn’t Bentley’s, as it will offer everything that you expect from this utmost British label.

ELEVATED PHANTOM

When certain badge, or in this case figure (of Ecstasy!) is sophisticated as this one is, then be sure that no visual experimenting is allowed. Masked test mules of Cullinan reveal that we are dealing here with Phantom on high heels. Pantheon grille, hood, side fenders, maybe the even design of the front bumper and presumably laser headlights, all correspond to the fascia of new Phantom VIII. Also, side profile reveals identical mirrors and presence of signature “suicide doors” (Rolls would prefer if we use “coach doors” as a term, but we don’t care).

Tail has decoy lights preventing us reaching conclusions, but we would expect some variation of usual brand’s theme there. Overall boxiness of its shape mixed with enormous proportions will certainly command imposing curb presence or maybe even a terrifying one. There is nothing available on the cabin yet, but giving how tall Phantom is (as much as a compact SUV if you didn’t know) and keeping in mind its cabin arrangements, simple transplant of its interior could occur without big alterations.

2019 ROLLS-ROYCE CULLINAN SPECS

2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan will use the same platform that just debuted with new Phantom. It is all-aluminum deal conveniently named “Architecture of Luxury”. Future SUV could also use either 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V12 rated at 563 hp or 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 delivering almost same 570 hp. The catch is in torque figures! Larger V12 used in Phantom operates with stratospheric 664 lb-ft of twist, while smaller twelve cylinder in Ghost (and its iterations) has “only” 577 lb-ft at disposal.

2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Engine And Transmission
Engine type	V12
Displacement	6.75-liter
Power/torque	563 hp/ 577 lb-ft
Transmission	8-speed automatic
Performance
0-60 mph	6.7 sec.
Top speed	155 mph
PRICE RANGE:$400k
Competitors:Bentley Bentayga,Lamborghini Urus

We would put our finger on Phantom’s V12, while ZF’s 8-speed automatic is a clear certainty. Some sort of all-wheel engagement is also natural to expect here, but we wouldn’t go as far as 4WD with low range gearing (let lone lockers, detachable sway bars…). AWD coupled with some clever LSD sounds more likely and anyway that is the road on which Bentayga travels. Expect “mammoth” Cullinan to debut in the first half of the next year, and anticipate Phantom-ish price tag of above $400k.

Written by Djordje (George) Mijatov ([email protected])