The last time Rolls-Royce let the world in on its upcoming SUV codenamed “Project Cullinan,” it was testing out the all-wheel drive platform using a freakishly modified Phantom. Now, some 20 months later, we’re getting the first glimpse of the actual SUV that will go up against the Bentley Bentyaga for the title of the most luxurious vehicle that can take you and the kids on a Whole Foods run.
If you think Project Cullinan looks like a slightly bigger Phantom, that’s seemingly what Rolls-Royce was going for. When it announced its plans to build an SUV, the company said it wanted to build a “high-bodied car” and this is definitely that.
The upcoming SUV is now being tested in public, and will undergo further stress tests in extreme weather around the globe in the coming months. Rolls-Royce says it will test the truck’s cold weather durability in the Arctic Circle after Christmas, and then will take it to the Middle East later in 2017 to see how it handles desert conditions.
Project Cullinan will also come with an all-new aluminum architecture — Rolls-Royce is referring to it as the “architecture of luxury” — which will become apart of the entire Rolls-Royce lineup from 2018 onward.