Rolls-Royce ropes in National Geographic

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan — the luxury brand’s first SUV, oh sorry, High-Riding Vehicle — is nearly ready for its international unveiling.

But first, the company is documenting the final stages of its durability testing with a National Geographic photographer along for the ride.

In a series of videos, adventure snapper Cory Richards will be using a camouflaged Cullinan to get into extreme locations to shoot photos (for a resulting heavily financed magazine advertorial, we can only imagine).

Richards says he is hoping to “break” the vehicle, such is the nature of where the company is taking the Cullinan, although unlike in the real world, we can assume there will be a man in a brown coat ready to fix things should he get a little too adventurous in his drive route-planning.

We’ll admit to being annoyingly intrigued by the web series though; the sight of something with the iconic Spirit of Ecstasy mascot on the grille fording a river remains rather diverting.

Richards speaks at length about his ambitions as a photographer being tied to the idea that all the people of the world are the same.

A nice sentiment, although the people who can afford a halfmillion-dollar SUV (sorry, sorry, High-Riding Vehicle) are probably a wee bit different though, right?

Search for Rolls-Royce The Final Challenge on the YouTube; wince your way through the plugs for the car and marvel at the scenery.