The Gentleman Magazine Issue 9 | June 2018 | Page 14

EFFORTLESS EVERYWHERE:
THE ROLLS-ROYCE CULLINAN
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. Many of these customers were younger,
very successful high-net-worth individuals who are heavily
engaged in the experience economy, and wanted a Rolls-Royce
that would take them to the ends of the Earth in ultimate
luxury.
Automotive mobility has always been a fast moving and
dynamic business, with new concepts – such as SUVs –
appearing with great regularity. But those new concepts need
to be perfected in order to be adopted by those customers who
will accept no compromise – the patrons of true luxury. Hence
the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
“History set our precedent, and today Rolls-Royce answers its
call to action,” comments Müller-Ötvös. “Our answer to the
visionaries, adventurers, explorers and those who believe in
the supremacy of liberty is the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.”
What is Cullinan?
The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is Rolls-Royce as it’s never seen
before. When Sir Henry Royce said, “Strive for perfection in
everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better.
When it does not exist, design it”, he could have had Cullinan
in mind.
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“We knew we had to offer our clients what they couldn’t find
in the SUV market,” continues Müller-Ötvös. “They do not
accept limitations or compromises in their lives. They are the
new pioneers, and for them it’s about their sense of adventure
and daring in how they live their experiences. This approach
to life demands a motor car that can go-anywhere in ultimate
luxury and style – Rolls-Royce style. Hence Cullinan.”
It was clear that these new, younger and more adventurous
customers wanted a Rolls-Royce that would take them
completely off the beaten track and reward them with life’s most
enriching experiences. What they didn’t want was a vehicle as
ubiquitous as an SUV with compromises such as increased
cabin noise due to the “two-box” formula; shared platforms
that affect performance and comfort; the choice of being good
either on-road or off-road; or a lower, more featureless SUV
that blends in and becomes just another car.
“Cullinan is luxury in its purest form blended with perfect
practicality and off-road capability,” comments Müller-Ötvös.
“Effortless, Everywhere is not just the promise behind Cullinan.
It’s the fact.”
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.
, Security in Motion”