Rolls-Royce Motor Cars does not build many cars like the Rolls Royce Cullinan: a 5-door SUV with 6.75 L N74B68 twin-turbocharged V12, built from 2018 as electrification stopped being an experiment and the crossover took every market. Its designer of record is Giles Taylor.
The background
The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is a full-size luxury crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV)/4x4 manufactured by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars as the brand's first all-wheel drive vehicle. It is named after the Cullinan Diamond, the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered. The Cullinan is positioned above the Ghost and below the Phantom in Rolls-Royce's range, with a starting price in the United States of approximately US$325,000 (£255,000).
It was unveiled in May 2018 at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy, and launched globally at an Autumn press event later that year in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, US. The Cullinan is the second best-selling Rolls-Royce of all time, after the Silver Shadow. Rolls-Royce announced production of the Cullinan Series II would begin in August 2024.
The engineering
Under the skin sits 6.75 L N74B68 twin-turbocharged V12. Kerb weight is 2660 kg. The gearbox is a 8-speed 8HP automatic. The layout matters: drive goes to all four wheels, which is what lets the power be used on a wet road. The wheelbase is 3295 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Where it sits in Rolls-Royce Motor Cars's history is not in doubt: it was built at West Sussex, England (Goodwood plant), United Kingdom. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Tesla Model 3, the Porsche Taycan, the Chevrolet Bolt.