Rolls-Royce has revealed Cullinan, an all-terrain high-bodied car that “makes the idea of authentic, luxury off-road travel a reality for the first time”.

When Rolls-Royce announced three years ago that it would launch Cullinan, it did so in the knowledge that its customers around the world had asked it to build “The Rolls-Royce of SUVs”, with luxury, performance and usability not seen before in the SUV market, the company said.

Many of these customers wanted a Rolls-Royce that would take them to the ends of the Earth in ultimate luxury. Making luxury effortless, everywhere engendered an evolution in Rolls-Royce’s approach to creating an authentic Rolls-Royce SUV. The most obvious sign of this was the radical rear of Cullinan, it said.

“The super-luxury lifestyle is evolving and Rolls-Royce is in the lead. Luxury is no longer an urban concept. More and more it is about embracing and experiencing the wider world. Our customers expect to go everywhere in luxury, effortlessly and without compromise, conquering the most challenging terrain to enjoy life’s most enriching experiences, wherever they may be. For this reason, they have asked us to create a Rolls-Royce that offers uncompromised luxury wherever they dare to venture. Cullinan is that car. It is Effortless, Everywhere.

“It is incomparable and dramatically evolves the parameters of super-luxury travel, translating Rolls-Royce’s ethos of ‘effortlessness’ into physical capability, anywhere in the world. Cullinan will simply take the world in its stride,” says Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

“The launch of a new Rolls-Royce model is always a seminal moment in the luxury industry. Today we are setting a new standard by creating a new class of motoring and motor car for customers who are well-connected, highly mobile and have a global perspective. They want a new type of motor car that gives them unbounded access in ultimate luxury. Their sense of adventure and daring demands a “go-anywhere in ultimate luxury” motor car that will both take them to and meet them at the pinnacle of life. Cullinan is that motor-car,” says Peter Schwarzenbauer, Chairman of Rolls-Royce and Member of the Board of the BMW Group.

“From the very beginning the design team treated this brand new Rolls-Royce as a unique, high bodied car. With global customer expectations in mind, our aim was two-fold – realise a presence to match the magnificent capability of Cullinan, whilst setting sector defining standards for luxury and elegance. We know that many of our luxury patrons pursue sports or leisure hobbies that require precisely this type of go anywhere vehicle – Cullinan’s design gesture had to possess an immediate sense of effortless accomplishment.”

“The label SUV is now applied to anything with a two-box silhouette and the least suggestion of going off tarmac. We envisioned an authentic, three-box high-bodied all-terrain car with a convention-challenging design and absolute capability that would satisfy the adventurous urges of our clients,” says Giles Taylor, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

The car is named after the largest diamond ever discovered which now resides in the British Crown Jewels.

The highlights of Cullinan include:

• The first “three-box” car in the SUV-sector, Cullinan’s partition wall creates a distinct environment for passengers, separated from the luggage compartment.

• The second new Rolls-Royce to sit on the all-new aluminium ‘Architecture of Luxury’, Cullinan is the most technologically advanced, and only purpose-built, luxury SUV.

• Cullinan offers a suite of bespoke features developed specifically for the many various lifestyles of its owners including the Viewing Suite and the Recreation Module.

• The 6.75 litre twin-turbo V12 Rolls-Royce engine delivers 563bhp/420kW and 850Nm/627lb ft of torque to the all-new all-wheel drive, all-wheel steer system needed to overcome any challenge.