Rolls-Royce Cullinan Silver Surfer Rip Curl Edition revealed
British luxury brand to launch bespoke 'surf wagon' at Bells Beach Pro competitionImages of the one-off Rolls-Royce Cullinan 'Surfer' project have leaked ahead of the striking vehicle's public debut at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach surf competition to be held in Australia from April 17.
Arguably one of the wildest designs to ever come out of Rolls-Royce Bespoke, the luxury brand's in-house custom shop, the Cullinan Silver Surfer is an ultra-rare one-off machine co-developed by surf brand Rip Curl, the major sponsor of the Bells Beach Pro surf competition.
According to sources from Rolls-Royce, the winner of the famous surf comp will not only get to ring the 'bell' but will also take home the ultimate surf wagon.
Rolls-Royce stated that Australian sales of its vehicles have been through the roof in the past two years and the arrival of an ultra-special Cullinan would help launch the extravagant SUV in the important Asia-Pacific market.
Based on the $685,000 Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV, which is powered by a lusty 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12 (420kW/850Nm), the Silver Surfer project gets a unique exterior finished in the sunset crimson hue with hand-painted coach-lining and sterling silver details designed to invoke the spirit of wave riding.
As well as the obligatory Rip Curl logos and breaking wave paintwork, the Cullinan Surfer project replaces the 'spirit of ecstasy' flying lady with the 'Spirit of Stoked', a silver surfer that inspired the car's name.
There are numerous changes to the interior of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan Silver Surfer SUV, including Rip Curl logos on the seats and dashboard, a unique 'beach sand' leather upholstery colour and a very special custom-made foot-shaped accelerator pedal.
"When Rip Curl came to us with this idea, we were somewhat skeptical but the data doesn't lie," a Rolls-Royce exec told carsales on the condition of anonymity.
"More CEOs, mining moguls and property developers name surfing as one of their primary passions. We feel we've created a fitting homage to Australian surf culture."
Although Rolls-Royce never reveals the cost of vehicles modified by its highly-respected Bespoke operation, sources close to the marque told carsales.com.au the Cullinan Silver Surfer would have a market value of close to $1 million.
April Monouno from the World Surf League (WSL), which organises the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach surf comp, said the sport of surfing is not just for dole-bludgers and pot-heads anymore.
"This is not only an incredible honour for the World Surf League, but this partnership shows that luxury brands and surfing go hand-in-hand. The sport has matured and whoever wins this shaggin' wagon is never going to forget the 2019 Bells Pro," she told carsales.
It's not the first surf wagon to grace Aussie shores. The iconic Holden Sandman panel van is arguably one of the originals, so Holden released its Sandman homage in 2015 with a special-edition SV6 Sportwagon.
Note: April Fools! Hope you enjoyed the prank today. But what do you reckon, could Rolls-Royce build something like this?
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