Rolls-Royce SUV uncovered

Rolls-Royce has shown the first official images of its first SUV, the mould-breaking 'Project Cullinan'.

Shrouded in camouflage, the shots reveal the size and slabby proportions of Roller’s first high-riding crossover, which is due to arrive in showrooms late 2018, and a decidedly more wagon-looking rear-end.

Until now, the Cullinan has been depicted as a Rolls-Royce Phantom with an oversized rear wing.

The vehicle’s brick-like dynamics are highlighted by a prominent slated front grille and similarly imposing headlights, flanked by what looks to be two large air-intakes on the lower side of the front-end.

The luxury marque isn’t providing any finer visual details of what the rear-end may look like (read: stay tuned for more teasers), but says it will be undertaking cold-weather and hot-weather testing after the Christmas break.

In typical Rolls-Royce fashion, the company wants to distance itself from the term SUV, instead preferring the term high-sided vehicle – HSV? – to describe the high-riding luxury wagon.

The first Rolls-Royce crossover, which could be termed a shooting brake, will be underpinned by a new scalable aluminium architecture that will also form the basis for the next Phantom.

Both vehicles will be rolled out in 2018, the Phantom early that year, the Cullinan later.

The BMW Group-owned British car-maker is expected to incorporate many of the advances seen in BMW’s flagship model, the 7 Series limousine, such as a carbon-fibre core to reduce weight and the potential of a more intuitive gesture control system, particularly for rear-seat passengers.

This new aluminium platform will also be future-proofed for autonomous driving functions and electric powertrains, but stakeholders are coy on whether Project Cullinan – a name that will change before it hits showrooms – will be offered with hybrid or EV options.