The Gentleman Magazine Issue 9 | June 2018 | Page 18

Once engaged, the driver can finesse the off-road setting to
glide over any situation, whether it be rough track, gravel, wet
grass, mud, snow or sand delivering all 850Nm of torque to all
four wheels without interruption. And faced with deep snow,
sand or the need to ford streams, Cullinan delivers the deepest
wading depth of any super-luxury SUV at 540mm thanks to its
highest ride height.
Designing a force of nature
“At this point in the history of automotive design, SUVs have
become homogenous and ubiquitous,” comments Giles Taylor,
Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “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 all-terrain high-bodied car with a convention-
challenging design and absolute capability that would satisfy
the adventurous urges of our clients.”
This strength and power are immediately apparent from the
face of Cullinan. Key features such as lights and air intakes
are deep set into the bodywork, whilst strong vertical and
horizontal lines create a powerful visage, with the prominent
brow of a Saxon warrior cr eated by the line that runs across the
top of the pantheon grille and ‘eyebrow’-like daytime running
lights. This approach lends a toughness of expression to the
front of Cullinan.
The grille is created from hand-polished stainless steel, but for
Cullinan it is set slightly proud of the surrounding bodywork
that pushes it up and forward. The Rolls-Royce badge and
Spirit of Ecstasy ride significantly above the line of the wing,
giving them a unique vantage point.
Away from the face of Cullinan the vertical lines that run from
the A-pillars down along the raised bonnet edge, down the side
of the grille and into the metal skid plate below emphasise the
height of the car and its dominant character.
Working with the Architecture of Luxury, Taylor and his team
designed the car he knew would meet expectations. Iconic
design, proper Rolls-Royce proportions inside and out, and
uncompromised levels of luxury. From the side, the purposefulness of Cullinan is clear. There is
an uncompromising sheerness of the typical Rolls-Royce long
bonnet profile, with the bonnet itself seen to be set higher than
the wings of the car to communicate greater toughness.
"One of the first benefits of the Architecture of Luxury to the
design of Cullinan was the ability to place the wheels and
create a unique roofline silhouette that would give Cullinan an
immediate sense of Rolls-Royce pedigree,” comments Taylor.
“This gave Cullinan the commanding stance of a warrior,
immediately communicating its strength and power, whilst at
the very same time allows effortless entry and exit from the
rear cabin." The line then rises quickly on the A-pillar to resolve in an
ultimate height for Cullinan of 1,836mm, a height accentuated
by the glass to metal ratio as seen from the side. From just over
the B-pillar, the roofline becomes quite fast and drops away
to the even faster rear glass which resolves in an elegantly
protruding boot lid that reminds one of the D-Back Rolls-
Royces of the 1930’s, some of the last of the marque to still
carry their owner’s luggage on a shelf outside the car.
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