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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
