Well, it had to happen, didn't it? Prepare yourself for RR's 'high-bodied' vehicle

Whatever your response to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, you can’t fault the company’s credentials. Prestige players crave authenticity above all else – it’s a valuable USP, particularly in China – and rather than being fashionably late to the SUV party, Rolls-Royce can legitimately claim to have been a pioneer. With the ultimate celebrity endorsement.

“More valuable than rubies in the desert,” Lawrence of Arabia noted of his nine-strong fleet of Rolls-Royces, modified to handle the brutal theatre of war he operated in. His personal car was called Blue Mist (he’s said to have commandeered it from its owner after spotting it outside a Cairo nightclub); others were open-bed tender vehicles, and several were armoured. During his legendary campaign against the Ottoman Turks, none ever broke down.

A century later, Rolls has different reasons for being in the Middle East, newly armed with a high-minded manifesto for its all-terrain ‘high-bodied’ vehicle. “Our answer to history, to the visionaries, adventurers, explorers and those who believe in the supremacy of liberty is the Rolls-Royce Cullinan,” CEO Torsten Müller Ötvös says. (Rather than rubies, the name references the biggest rough-cut blue diamond ever found.)

This is a car that doesn’t just redefine the meaning of the word utility, it dismantles it. Let’s start with its structure, which evolves the so-called Architecture of Luxury that underpins the latest, and phenomenally good, Phantom. For which, read modular aluminium spaceframe, with castings in each corner and extrusions in between, reconfigured here into a form that sits higher and shorter than in its limo sibling. To the Phantom’s supernatural sense of calm, the Cullinan adds space, arguably even greater presence, and all the soft- and hardware needed to send it down the road and up a mountain with imperiousness. Versatility, too, but that’s far too plebeian a concept to fit the Rolls vernacular. ‘Effortless Everywhere’ is the elevator pitch on this one. The supremely capable bodyguard to the Phantom, if you prefer.

The new chassis is 30 per cent stiffer than the Phantom’s, an improvement that helps the transition to giant 4x4. “The drivetrain system we engineered for the Cullinan had one key job to do,” engineering project leader Caroline Krismer tells TG during a clandestine preview at R-R’s handsome Goodwood HQ. “We began with a simple principle, which was to bring our cars’ ‘magic carpet ride’ to other terrains, while delivering class-leading on-road behaviour. This platform and the high body as a basic skeleton gives great comfort. The application of the powertrain is very Cullinan-specific.”

There’s a new double wishbone set-up up front and a five-link rear axle, with a next generation self-levelling air suspension whose quick-thinking electronically controlled dampers take their cue from body and wheel acceleration, as well as the ‘Flagbearer’ stereo camera system that scans the road ahead. It also benefits from 4WS, there’s a 48V anti-roll system, and power goes to both axles in a 50/50 split (it’s the first Rolls in the company’s history to receive drive to the front). The engine itself is a reworked version of the Phantom’s twin-turbo, 6.75-litre V12, good for 563bhp but more significantly 627lb ft of torque from a practically subterranean 1,600rpm. A combined 18.8mpg and 341g/km CO2 are incidentals, and only a governed 155mph top speed is quoted (Rolls owners don’t accelerate – they gather momentum.)

The transmission is the silken, imperceptible ZF 8spd automatic, satellite-aided in the Cullinan (as in other Rolls products), though this time it’s not practising its clairvoyance through corners, it’s doing it on sand dunes and wherever else extraordinarily rich people like to muck around. Very, very smoothly. “What makes the car great on-road makes it great off-road, too,” Krismer adds.

The Cullinan’s adventure mode, meanwhile, is accessed via a single button – the ‘Everywhere’ button, in Rolls parlance – which works across rutted track, gravel, wet grass, mud or snow. Its wading depth is 540mm, the deepest, claims Rolls, of any super-luxury SUV (40mm more than a Bentley Bentayga). We won’t know until we try it, but the films Rolls has released online point to a car of considerable, perhaps even unexpected prowess. “Honestly, it’s amazing,” Ötvös says. And he’s not a man given to exaggeration.

Mind you, there are some width-restrictors in London best avoided (unless you plan to drive straight over them); the Cullinan is a big thing. It’s 5.3m long, 2.1m wide, and 1.8m tall, and if you happen to have access to a set of industrial scales, you’ll find it weighs in at 2,660kg unladen. During the reveal, Rolls took the unusual step of showing us two different cars, one finished in Magma Red, the other Darkest Tungsten with a turquoise coach-line. The red one leans more on the utility side – though it’s scarcely a Lada Niva – while the other ticks every box on the luxury front, including a few that will be unfamiliar because Rolls has invented a smattering of new ones. The point being, you can tune the car’s character.

The Cullinan has been a long time coming. Rolls, a touch snootily, says it was waiting for the SUV concept to be perfected before entering the fray on behalf of “those customers who will accept no compromise – the patrons of true luxury”. Perhaps they’re ready to chop in their Range Rovers now. Either way, design director Giles Taylor and his team began hypothesising five years ago. “We didn’t set out to do an SUV,” Taylor says, “we set out to define and deliver Rolls-Royce luxury in a high-bodied vehicle. We know these types of cars are particularly popular in the US, in the Middle East and increasingly in China. We envisaged an elevated luxury, fusing the comfort and opulence of our cars with that sense of surveying the vista ahead and being able to take it on. We embraced the desert. This is a car that belongs at the top of a sand dune.”

More than most, Taylor has had to develop a deep understanding of the people who buy the cars he designs, navigate their idiosyncrasies while making them comfortable with new approaches. He doesn’t do crowd-pleasers, and a certain thoughtfulness is useful when it comes to understanding his philosophy. Like the Phantom, the Cullinan is a meticulous piece of work, with rigorously finished surfaces and unbelievable presence. It’s a powerful, implacable-looking machine, whose laser headlights and vertical and horizontal lines result in a face that Rolls likens to a warrior. The bonnet sits higher than the front wings to emphasise the car’s tougher remit.

Then there’s the traditional Parthenon grille – which came in for some serious stick recently, courtesy of Aston Martin’s design director, Marek Reichman. It’s fashioned from hand-polished stainless steel, and sits proud of the bodywork here. Eleanor, the Spirit of Ecstasy retracts electrically, of course, and sits higher too, presumably so she can get a better view of the vista ahead as well. Or possibly the contents of Prada’s shop window.

Accepted notions of beauty are redundant here – if ever there was a statement car, it’s the Cullinan – but Taylor admits that a certain gracefulness was still an important consideration. Plus, this is a car aimed at a new, younger, more family-oriented and progressive demographic. “It acts on its front wheels,” he says. “There’s an energy and modernity to the Cullinan. The roofline gets faster as your eye travels across it, and there’s no sweetness to the jewellery.” There are strong metal touch-points, and big protective spears above the sills that also break up the body side volume. The Cullinan has huge ‘coach’ doors. Finally, there’s a pronounced rear ‘bustle’, which references the Thirties Rolls D-Back. Back then, one’s chattels travelled separately in a trunk; you should never sit with your luggage or your dog, says Rolls. To which end, an interior glass partition can be ordered sealing off the boot area from the cabin. Poor Fido.

Elsewhere inside, the Cullinan adds functionality to Rolls’s spectacular cabin ambience. There’s structure and symmetry, with metal pillars connecting the centre console and fascia, and water-resistant ‘box grain’ black leather on the dash-top, doors, and even the back of the key. (The Cullinan drops 40mm as you approach it for elegant access and egress.) The instrument dials have beautiful graphics, the power reserve gauge is present (no rev-counter in a Rolls), and the central multimedia display is now a touchscreen. There’s a vast suite of assistance systems, including a four-camera system with panoramic and helicopter view, and an industry-leading hi-res head-up display. Rear passengers sit higher than those in front, either in lounge configuration or in sumptuous individual chairs (you can have a cool box and whisky glasses with that set-up, and Lord knows what else).

Behind the split rear tailgate, the rear compartment can be specified with a Recreation Module, a motorised drawer specifically designed according to the owner’s preferred pastime, or you can order the Viewing Suite, which stores an ingenious pair of folding leather-clad rear-facing seats and cocktail table in a special cassette. This is how the top one per cent of the other half live. And sit.

Whether you actually like the Cullinan or not is irrelevant. Rolls-Royce operates in a highfalutin world, and its cars are engineered to erase the barriers that obstruct lesser vehicles. If the Phantom pushes the outer reaches of what’s possible, the Cullinan lets you physically access them. A diamond in the desert.

The original Cullinan, launched in 2018, was the world's first super-luxury SUV, fulfilling a unique and exacting brief. From a performance and engineering standpoint, it had to have genuine off-road capabilities equal to the most demanding and hostile environments on Earth. At the same time, it had to deliver the marque's peerless comfort and signature 'magic carpet ride', regardless of the terrain. It had to be nothing less than the definitive super-luxury SUV - rugged yet refined, unstoppable yet serene: effortless, everywhere. Its success exceeded Rolls-Royce's most ambitious expectations around the world, and today Cullinan is the most requested Rolls-Royce in the marque's portfolio.

Given the motor car's extraordinary success, and incredibly positive reception from clients in every region of the world, shaping a new expression of the 'Rolls-Royce of SUVs' was undertaken with meticulous care. The marque's designers, engineers and craftspeople drew on half a decade of detailed client feedback, the brand's own intelligence gathering - including our Private Offices around the world - and a raft of new technologies to advance Cullinan. In its new guise, which represents the most extensive Series II development in Rolls-Royce history, it responds to changing codes of luxury and evolving usage patterns while remaining true to the essential qualities that underpin Cullinan's unprecedented popularity.

COMMANDING THE URBAN SPACE

Since the first client deliveries, Cullinan fulfilled its purpose as a supremely accomplished off-road motor car, capable of taking its owner into locations never previously explored in a Rolls-Royce. However, versatility and the effortless everywhere essence of the model also made Cullinan a 'daily driver' for many owners; indeed, numerous clients have told Rolls-Royce that no other SUV offers the same effortless performance as Cullinan's 6.75-litre V12 engine, from what is often a substantial and diverse collection. These were all significant considerations in conceiving Cullinan Series II.

It was noted by the marque's intelligence specialists that an increasing number of Rolls-Royce clients were concentrated in urban areas - from great world metropolises to fast-growth cities in emerging regions. To that end, Cullinan increasingly serves as a super-luxury product in which clients wish to be seen and project their character - albeit with the capacity to vanish into nature at will. Specialists also observed a shift towards owners driving their motor cars themselves. When Cullinan was first launched, less than 70% were self-driven: today, almost every Cullinan is driven by its owner, with less than 10% of clients retaining the services of a chauffeur. Together with the rejuvenation of the brand and the ever-increasing Bespoke offering, Cullinan contributed to a fall in the average age of Rolls-Royce clients from 56 in 2010 to just 43 today.

CULLINAN SERIES II: EXTERIOR

An increasingly urban focus, a youthful cadre of clients and a decisive shift towards self-driving informs the surface treatment and detail of Cullinan Series II's exterior. A key theme is verticality, which echoes illuminated skyscrapers in the megacities where Cullinan is increasingly at home. This is most apparent in the new lamp treatment, where tall daytime running light graphics ensure Cullinan Series II is easily identified, day and night.

The front of Cullinan Series II is composed of simple feature lines and crisp edges, with an emphasis on clean, monolithic surfaces that amplify the motor car's generous proportions and presence. The bumper lines form a shallow 'V' from the lowest point of the daytime running lights to the motor car's centre point, recalling the sharp bow lines of modern sports yachts. Underneath, new air intakes angle outwards assertively, visually lowering the motor car when viewed head on.

The centrepiece is the illuminated pantheon grille. This is the first time that Cullinan has been provisioned with an illuminated grille, which has been further refreshed with a lower leading edge. It also incorporates a new polished horizontal 'horizon line' between the daytime running lights, providing a clear visual link to the marque's pinnacle product, Phantom Series II.

In profile, Cullinan Series II reveals further changes to the surfacing. While the front wings retain their sheer, vertical lines, the marque's designers added a restrained yet precise feature line leading from the taillight forwards to the centre of the floating 'RR' centre caps on the rear wheel. This creates a subtle taper and impression of movement, further amplified by the updated lower valance surfaces, which lift at the rear. They are presented in a rich high-gloss black, which reflects the road below, creating a sense of motion on these fixed forms.

Viewed from behind, the exhaust treatment of Cullinan Series II is a bold statement of power - each surround is presented in mirror-finish stainless steel, cleanly integrated and visually flush to the body. Changes at the rear conclude with a brushed stainless-steel protective plate running between the exhausts, which flows underneath the motor car.

Resolving this younger and more expressive evolution of Cullinan's styling are upsized 23-inch wheels - the first time that 23-inch wheels have been made available by the marque for Cullinan. Each wheel is milled from a billet of aluminium, and the three-dimensional and faceted seven-spoke design is available in a part or fully polished finish.

In addition to the evolved exterior form, Rolls-Royce colour specialists developed a new paint finish in which to present Cullinan Series II. Inspired by a richly-veined brown marble, Emperador Truffle is a contemporary, minimalist solid grey-brown; when combined with the Bespoke 'Crystal Over' finish, a lacquer infused with glass particles, it gains a subtle shimmer reminiscent of fresh snow under morning light.

CULLINAN SERIES II: INTERIOR

Reflecting many clients' desires for bolder forms of self-expression, innovative decoration and detail have been added throughout the interior of Cullinan Series II. The most substantive change to the motor car's geometry is the pillar-to-pillar glass-panel fascia in the upper portion of the dashboard - an elegant and versatile design element that stages both digital and physical craftsmanship.

The gauge cluster panel in front of the driver and new, permanently visible Central Information Display in the centre of the fascia are redesigned to form a stage for the advanced SPIRIT operating system. This digital interface was first introduced on the all-electric Spectre; Cullinan Series II marks the first application of SPIRIT in a V12-powered Rolls-Royce. It also presents opportunities for Bespoke personalisation to extend from the physical to the digital world - clients can tailor the colour of the instrument dials to complement the motor car's interior palette or exterior finish.

SPIRIT also sees Whispers, the Rolls-Royce private members application, integrated into Cullinan. Clients are able to send destinations directly to their motor car, view Cullinan's location remotely and manage vehicle locking through the app.

Connectivity has been refined throughout the motor car, especially for those in the rear of Cullinan Series II. Clients are able to connect up to two streaming devices to the rear screens, which now incorporate a Bespoke interface for streaming car management and seating functions such as massage, heating and cooling.

The installation of internet connectivity allows clients to enjoy a Wi-Fi hot spot connection and independent streaming for each screen. For the first time in Cullinan, Bluetooth headphones of any type can be paired with the rear seat infotainment system, or clients can enjoy the marque's exceptional 18-speaker Bespoke Audio system, which benefits from the latest generation 18-channel 1400-watt amplifier. Cullinan Series II retains the brand's celebrated speaker architecture wherein cavities within the motor car's aluminium sill sections are used as resonance chambers for low frequency speakers, effectively transforming the entire motor car into a subwoofer.

Directly in front of the passenger is an Illuminated Fascia panel - a remarkable expression of modern craft that debuted with Ghost before appearing in Spectre and now, for the first time, is available within the Cullinan family. In this guise, it features an illuminated Cullinan wordmark and a unique Cityscape graphic inspired by the skyscrapers of the world's megacities at night. This is created using a specially-developed technique whereby 7,000 dots are laser-etched onto the rear of the darkened and toughened security glass, each at minutely differing angles and dimensions to create the perception of depth. In addition to this prêt-à-porter design, clients are also able to create their own Illuminated Fascia motif in collaboration with the marque's Bespoke designers.

Alongside the Central Information Display on the passenger side of the fascia is the new Spirit of Ecstasy Clock Cabinet. This unique inset vitrine displays both an analogue timepiece and an up-lit Spirit of Ecstasy figurine. The figurine is constructed from solid stainless steel and placed on her own stage with a matte black back panel and high gloss side panels to create a reflection effect.

Incorporating the Spirit of Ecstasy into the interior of the motor car was the product of four years of development, and a unique partnership between analogue and digital craftspeople to create a dramatic and meticulously orchestrated flow of light. This sequence begins with the illumination of the driver's display upon entering the motor car, followed by the Central Information Display, then the Illuminated Fascia, where light sweeps inwards towards the vitrine, lighting the timepiece. The Spirit of Ecstasy is illuminated from below initially, reminiscent of a spotlight on a debut performance, before her stage lighting settles to a soft glow.

CULLINAN SERIES II: AN EVOLVED MATERIAL PALETTE

To acknowledge Cullinan's ability - and the desire of many clients - to escape into nature at will, the interior is comprised of a palette inspired by botanicals. Cullinan Series II introduces Grey Stained Ash, a richly grained natural open-pore wood with a delicate shimmer. All of the logs of this species are individually selected, veneer 'leaves' are subsequently stained by hand and elevated with the addition of microscopic metallic particles, which creates the unique effect - a process that took more than four years of development.

Cullinan Series II also continues Rolls-Royce's exploration of textiles with a new rayon fabric made from bamboo, named Duality Twill. The use of this material was inspired by the extensive bamboo grove in Le Jardin des Méditerranées on the Côte d'Azur, which neighbours Sir Henry Royce's former winter home, Villa Mimosa. Members of the design team visited the gardens during a research excursion where they were inspired to develop a material made with the plant, which has grown in the grounds of the jardin for more than a century and would have been observed by Sir Henry Royce himself.

The twill textile is embroidered with an artistic 'Duality' graphic. Based on an abstract interpretation of the two interlinked letter R initials of the marque's founders, the design reflects a clear nautical influence, reminiscent of the interweaving rope lines found on sailing yachts - another subtle allusion to the French Riviera.

This intricate embroidered textile was developed for more than a year in collaboration with a master weaver who has now joined Rolls-Royce full-time to oversee this complex process, which takes place at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood. A full Duality Twill interior can incorporate up to 2.2 million stitches, 11 miles of thread and is the product of 20 hours of construction. To ensure uniformity in the pattern, each piece is individually crafted before being cut using a specially developed laser that seals the material's edge and mitigates individual threads becoming loose. The base twill textile is available in three colours - Lilac, Chocolate and Black - and clients can select from 51 different colours of thread.

Cullinan Series II integrates another new contemporary craft technique developed by the marque's artisans; Placed Perforation is the practice of creating artworks through tiny perforations in the leather. Available for the first time on a series model, for Cullinan Series II, designers have created a pattern inspired by the constantly changing shapes and shadows of the clouds over the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood. It comprises up to 107,000 0.8- and 1.2-millimetre perforations. A single craftsperson checks each individual perforation to ensure absolute uniformity.

CULLINAN SERIES II: A LEGACY FURTHERED

Cullinan built a new legacy for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, shaped in collaboration with a bold and uncompromising generation of super-luxury consumers. Cullinan Series II evolves and builds on this motor car's place in the brand, proving once more that the future of this marque will be shaped in partnership with its clients and characterised by exquisite contemporary crafts.

Rolls-Royce's disruptive alter ego, Black Badge, reached its apotheosis in Cullinan where its assertive and uncompromising attitude appeals to clients who seek the boldest forms of self-expression. Now, the marque presents a clear evolution of this subversive motor car with Black Badge Cullinan Series II.

BLACK BADGE CULLINAN SERIES II: EXTERIOR

Black Badge Cullinan Series II asserts its presence with an impactful front-end treatment. The principal differentiator is the lower air intake design. These geometrical pieces incorporate widened veins, signalling the motor car's more urgent dynamic character. Above this is the marque's iconic Pantheon grille, which has been illuminated for the first time across Cullinan and Black Badge Cullinan Series II. For Black Badge, the grille is finished in the series' hallmark Black, though a silver 'horizon line' creates a sense of breadth and solidity while framing the motor car's vertical daytime running lights. For clients wishing to fully cloak their motor car in darkness, this is also available in an all-black finish.

All exterior body detail elements and brightwork, including the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine, are also finished in Black. For the first time in the history of Black Badge, this now extends from the window surrounds and door spears to the door handles. Each piece is hand-prepared by the marque's artisans: first, a light abrasive is used across the handle to provide a 'key' for a hardwearing primer, onto which four coats of Black paint are then applied. After curing, these pieces are individually polished to ensure that they match the rich, high-gloss coachwork of Black Badge Cullinan Series II.

Other darkened elements, including the rear tailgate and bumper accents as well as the motor car's exhausts, are treated with a specific chrome electrolyte to achieve the mirror-black effect. This is introduced to the traditional chrome plating process and co-deposited on the stainless-steel substrate, darkening the finish. Its final thickness is just one micrometre - around one-hundredth of the width of a human hair. Each of these components is precision-polished by hand to achieve a mirror-black chrome finish before it is fitted to the motor car.

Black Badge Cullinan Series II clients are now able to extend exterior colours to all lower body surfaces, as well as the subtly enhanced lower sill, valances, and lower front bumper - a treatment reserved for Black Badge Cullinan Series II. This visually lowers the motor car, creating a more dynamic statement that further amplifies its monolithic form.

The exterior treatment is completed with 23-inch wheels - the first time wheels of this size have been offered by the marque for a Black Badge motor car. From a distance, the design appears to consist of five spokes finished in gloss-black and silver. In fact, there are 10 interwoven spokes: the visual effect is created by a carefully-orchestrated interplay between polished, painted and recessed, negative surfaces. The design also allows a clear view of the Black Badge disc brake callipers, shown in a signature Red, which can also be finished in Black, Turchese, Mandarin, or Forge Yellow.

BLACK BADGE CULLINAN SERIES II: A SUBVERSIVE INTERIOR TREATMENT

Advanced, technical materials have become a hallmark of Black Badge Rolls-Royce motor cars. For Black Badge Cullinan Series II, this theme continues. Clients expressed their appreciation of the original Black Badge Cullinan's Technical Carbon finish - on this basis, this exquisite material has been retained for Series II. The naked-weave carbon-fibre finish has been developed to create a precise repeating pattern of geometrical shapes that create a three-dimensional effect. Each leaf of Technical Carbon is finished with six coats of lacquer before being left to cure for 72 hours then all 23 pieces are hand-polished to a mirror finish. This process takes 21 days in total.

If Individual Rear Seats are commissioned, clients can include the Black Badge family motif, known as the infinity symbol, onto the rear Technical Carbon 'Waterfall' section that separates the rear reclining seats and conceals the Cullinan Series II Champagne cooler. This delicate aluminium piece is placed between the third and fourth layer of six layers of subtly tinted lacquer, creating the illusion that the symbol is floating above the Technical Carbon. In Lounge Seat configuration, the infinity symbol is embroidered.

The seats themselves are available to commission in the marque's stunning new Duality Twill textile, a new rayon fabric made from bamboo and inspired by the extensive bamboo grove in Le Jardin des Méditerranées on the Côte d'Azur, which neighbours Sir Henry Royce's former winter home, Villa Mimosa. The twill textile is embroidered with an artistic 'Duality' graphic. Based on an abstract interpretation of the two interlinked letter R initials of the marque's founders, the design reflects a clear nautical influence, reminiscent of the interweaving rope lines found on sailing yachts - another subtle allusion to the French Riviera.

A complete Duality Twill interior of the intricately embroidered textile incorporates up to 2.2 million stitches and 11 miles of thread. This exquisite material can be further dramatised with bold Bespoke colourways, further enhancing this remarkable new finish for Black Badge clients.

Placed Perforation seating can also be incorporated into this bold expression of Cullinan. Up to 107,000 0.8- and 1.2-millimetre perforations are made onto the seat leather, creating an abstract pattern, inspired by the constantly changing shapes and shadows of the clouds over the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in the twilight hours.

The dark ambience of Black Badge continues with the interior metals. Air vent surrounds on the dashboard and in the rear cabin are darkened using physical vapour deposition, a method of colouring metal that does not discolour or tarnish over time or through repeated use.

The subversive design principles of Black Badge motor cars have also been applied to Cullinan Series II's unique Clock Cabinet. This inset vitrine displays both an analogue timepiece and an up-lit Spirit of Ecstasy figurine. The Spirit of Ecstasy is constructed from solid stainless steel and rendered in Black, recalling the figure that sits on the prow of Black Badge Cullinan Series II. The Clock Cabinet is flanked by Cullinan's new Illuminated Fascia, which displays an ethereal glowing infinity symbol within the new vertical Cityscape pattern.

Black Badge Cullinan Series II is also the stage for an exclusive digital Bespoke treatment, with instrument dials now available in four neo-futuristic colourways: Vivid Grellow, Neon Nights, Cyan Fire and the kaleidoscopic-style Synth Wave.

BLACK BADGE CULLINAN SERIES II: PROVEN ENGINEERING

In Black Badge Cullinan's first guise, clients requested that the Black Badge experience extended beyond the aesthetic treatment of the motor car. In the five years since its launch, the changes made by Rolls-Royce engineers for the 2019 motor car, which included higher capacity air springs to alleviate body roll and the addition of even greater power reserves, have become integral to this bold motor car's appeal. Accordingly, these qualities are preserved for Black Badge Cullinan Series II, including the twin-turbocharged 6.75-litre V12 engine, which generates a total output of 600PS, and 900Nm of torque.

To exploit the additional power, the transmission and throttle remain calibrated for more immediate acceleration. The ZF eight-speed gearbox and both front- and rear-steered axles work together to adjust the levels of feedback to the driver, depending on throttle and steering inputs without compromising the motor car's effortless 'magic carpet ride' experience.

Depressing the 'Low' button on the gear selection stalk continues to unlock further Black Badge technologies. When activated, drivers experience a change in tone and volume from the Bespoke Black Badge exhaust system, signalling that all of the 900Nm torque reserves are available from 1700rpm - just 700rpm above tick-over. Low Mode also increases the speed of gear shifts by 50% when the throttle is depressed to 90%. To fully exploit Black Badge Cullinan Series II, the brake pedal travel has been decreased to create a more immediate response to driver inputs.

A BOLD BESPOKE TREATMENT

Like its predecessor, Black Badge Cullinan Series II defines a distinct attitude and aesthetic code within the super-luxury sector. The clients who patronise this expression of the brand do so on their own terms - with Black Badge Cullinan Series II, Rolls-Royce signals its ongoing commitment to these individuals' requirements, and their bold appreciation of luxury.