Rolls-Royce planning V16 roadster, luxury SUV

[Serpens]

Unimaginative.


The front lacks the crispness and progressiveness of the new Phantom. On the inside it looks like a watered down Phantom without a gallery. I would go as far as saying that I prefer the interior of Ghost which was a bit more aluminum for some edge.


Congratulations Land Rover. Neither Bentley nor RR has usurped the design of the Range Rover.

The Cullinan reminds me of the custom SUVs Bentley built from the Sultan of Brunei 30 years ago: Boxy and old fashioned.

I'm in 100% agreement.

 

[Matski]

Congratulations Land Rover. Neither Bentley nor RR has usurped the design of the Range Rover.

The Cullinan reminds me of the custom SUVs Bentley built from the Sultan of Brunei 30 years ago: Boxy and old fashioned.

Well, as Scott points out, the Dominator was a rebodied Range Rover... so perhaps Boxy and Old-fashioned was what the Sultan wanted... or more specifically, he wanted something that was a contemporary representation of the brand style... which to be fair to Rolls-Royce is very much what we have with the Cullinan.

Personally I'd completely get it if people don't like the general Rolls-Royce Cullinan look, it's a tough sell to get the classic Rolls-Royce proportions to translate to that of an SUV proportioned car without resorting to the kind of overt styling that the Bentayga went for (which ultimately makes the car looks a big bloated and saggy)... but... I would also question what anyone sees in the L405 Rangie from an exterior design point of view. Where the Cullinan frames its tall windows with an unmissable chrome surround which is what perhaps gives it that old-fashioned look, the Range Rover maintains it's floating roof appearance by encircling the car with shiney black uprights... It's not that I find it ineffective, but on such a tall vehicle it does make it look pretty slab sided... kinda suits MINI's more and doesn't necessarily say premium to me... Plus the front of the Rangie is pretty forgettable these days. edit: Also there's the apparent shortening of the vanity panel and the moving of the faux grille to the door... which I didn't like compared to earlier model.

As I've said since I saw the Cullinan on the streets of Munich alongside the Phantom 8, I was surprised that the Phantom still had more on road presence and looked like the larger... or more "significant" vehicle.

I think I'm right in saying that if the Ghost were a 5 series, and a Phantom were a 7 series, the Cullinan would be an X5, so I'm not suprised if they keep Phantom, and it's nuances in its own bubble for now.

 

[Serpens]

Where the Cullinan frames its tall windows with an unmissable chrome surround which is what perhaps gives it that old-fashioned look, the Range Rover maintains it's floating roof appearance by encircling the car with shiney black uprights... It's not that I find it ineffective, but on such a tall vehicle it does make it look pretty slab sided... kinda suits MINI's more and doesn't necessarily say premium to me... Plus the front of the Rangie is pretty forgettable these days.

It doesn't need to say premium and no one cares if it suits MINIs more...the original Range Rover was styled like that and it is now a trademark of the Range Rover brand. Heritage cues matter.

 

[Matski]

It doesn't need to say premium and no one cares if it suits MINIs more...

Oh... right...

.. you're not a Range Rover owner are you?

the original Range Rover was styled like that and it is now a trademark of the Range Rover brand. Heritage cues matter.

Hardly seems fair to criticise the Cullinan for... well... any styling decision then.

 

[KA2607]

First impressions , it looks dated. Phantom looks modern compared to it

 

[Centurion]

Personally I'd completely get it if people don't like the general Rolls-Royce Cullinan look, it's a tough sell to get the classic Rolls-Royce proportions to translate to that of an SUV proportioned car

While I don't mind the shape of the car, it's the styling that let's the car down. From the front it has the appearance of a 10 year old Rolls. Compare that against the Drophead Coupe, Ghost and new Phantom which have livelier and more progressive faces.

Hopefully different alloys, aluminium bonnet or two tone paint scheme can add some personality to the exterior.

 

[Serpens]

Oh... right...

.. you're not a Range Rover owner are you?

Partner drives one, not me. I don't like the current generation.

Hardly seems fair to criticise the Cullinan for... well... any styling decision then.

I don't think anyone is criticizing specific heritage cues, just that the overall design is dated/unimaginative. As Centurion pointed out above, other vehicles advanced Rolls' styling efforts nicely. Summarily, I feel RR could've used their heritage cues and the SUV body to greater effect.

 

[Deleted member 25]

I like it very much and looks very much as i expected it to be.

 

[EnI]

Rolls owners wanted boxy & old-fashioned design for the R-R SUV - something as stately as the G-class & the original Range Rover. And they've just got it. It does not matter what we "mortals" think about it. We are not the future buyers / owners ...

 

[gdm]

I got some informations from the private preview of Cullinan which held in Beijing last month,hundreds potential buyers from mainland China attended the event,only 10% guests confirmed to make a order,it's far short of expectation of event's organizer,the reaction to Cullinan is underwhelmed in China.

 

[Star&Car]

The headlight design is the only dissapointed part of the exterior...Just compared to other RRs,it's also the dullest one.

 

[Monster]

Rolls owners wanted boxy & old-fashioned design for the R-R SUV - something as stately as the G-class & the original Range Rover. And they've just got it. It does not matter what we "mortals" think about it. We are not the future buyers / owners ...

Yes but surely it could have looked a bit more distinctive and modern, this looked like the R-R from the Ghost era, I thought it will at least use more modern design language from the Phantom.

 

[Matski]

While I don't mind the shape of the car, it's the styling that let's the car down. From the front it has the appearance of a 10 year old Rolls. Compare that against the Drophead Coupe, Ghost and new Phantom which have livelier and more progressive faces.

I can see what you are saying. For me it's the opposite, I'm taking the styling elements of the car to very much be what I would expect from a 'non-top level' Rolls-Royce... I was expecting the details to represent a more rugged version of the Ghosts face, which is how I see this. Everything's pretty much the same, but executed with its own little twist, with some small Phantom-esque details... For sure, that means it looks very familiar.

Personally, I've always been worried about the general shape of the body because without that full length form, from flat front to tapered tail, that the cues on the side of the car will be lost, and the contrast between the roof line and character lines... I think that's why we'll see a bit of a step in the bootlid... I'm just not sure how well it will work.

I don't think anyone is criticizing specific heritage cues, just that the overall design is dated/unimaginative. As Centurion pointed out above, other vehicles advanced Rolls' styling efforts nicely. Summarily, I feel RR could've used their heritage cues and the SUV body to greater effect.

Fair enough. I suppose if I had to summarise, I'm not surprised to see very slow evolution of the design, and I'm not surprised that this isn't so much Phantoms design here, as there is the Ghost/Wraith/Dawn, though elements of both are present. Going in a totally different direction might have been interesting, but I'm not surprised they didn't. To me it looks very much as expected, which isn't what lets it down for me... it's more that the Rolls-Royce form applied to this shape of vehicle is too brick like.

 

[cullinan395]

Beyond the design, the color chosen for the launch is very questionable. With white or two tones it would look less bad. Anyway three years for this, it is a complete disappointment.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

Pretty much what I expected. Interior dash is a bit of a letdown. I wasn't expecting Phantom level, but I was expecting the screen integration to be more up-to-date. The newly Conti GT and Phantom really set the tone of how to marry new tech with old-world ambience.

 

[SCOTT27]

I got some informations from the private preview of Cullinan which held in Beijing last month,hundreds potential buyers from mainland China attended the event,only 10% guests confirmed to make a order,it's far short of expectation of event's organizer,the reaction to Cullinan is underwhelmed in China.

They are well into the second year of customer orders. Seems many customers across the globe see potential in the car.

 

[Centurion]

Rolls owners wanted boxy & old-fashioned design for the R-R SUV - something as stately as the G-class & the original Range Rover. And they've just got it. It does not matter what we "mortals" think about it. We are not the future buyers / owners ...

But isn't RR a forward thinking and progressive brand? The Phantom certainly had a stronger appeal than the Maybach and Mulsanne. Understandably they will have shown design prototypes to prospective buyers who were ready to vote with their wallets.

 

[Yaz]

The screen of central dash is still old 10.5'' ,not the new 12.3'' screen in Phantom,some source said.

Yeah and no gallery? But this is for the rich soccer mom's or the mistress

 

[Busty]

Unimaginative.


The front lacks the crispness and progressiveness of the new Phantom. On the inside it looks like a watered down Phantom without a gallery. I would go as far as saying that I prefer the interior of Ghost which was a bit more aluminum for some edge.


Congratulations Land Rover. Neither Bentley nor RR has usurped the design of the Range Rover.

The Cullinan reminds me of the custom SUVs Bentley built from the Sultan of Brunei 30 years ago: Boxy and old fashioned.

Even though I don't fully agree with the level of harshness of your critique there is a kernel of truth to it.
What I just cannot understand is that particularly BMW seem to always go for the most conservative approach when it comes to their luxury models. I have had lots of interactions with customers even in such top-level segments and I'm convinced that their gusto for stylistic novelty and experimentation has always been underestimated. And with regard to the Cullinan, we're talking about details that would have had a tremendous effect (headlight area, flanks, dash, choice of materials etc.).

 

[sako97]

Better than the Bentayga, but the Range Rover is much more my cup of tea.