A DIAMOND BY ANY OTHER NAME

Hitherto, the only item known as the ‘Cullinan’ has been a massive diamond that makes up part of the British Crown Jewels. Now, though, there’ll be another Cullinan — as in, “Jeeves, bring the Cullinan around; I want to go shooting.” Although, more than likely it’ll just be, “Jeeves, bring the Cullinan around; I want to go for a coffee.”

This new tourer from Rolls-royce is as grand as the diamond that it’s named after is hard. The truth is that the Cullinan will probably spend most of its time pottering around the trendier shopping streets of our main centres, but this doesn’t detract from the fact that Rolls-royce has hit the nail on the head.

The new SUV is driven by 6.75 litres of twin-turbo V12, over 410kw, and masses of twisting power. From the inside, the only thing you need to do with the outside world is watch it go by, and there’s really no better place to do that from.

New Zealand Classic Car staffer Dean Payne was invited to drive the new SUV, and notes that, while the Cullinan may not be the most beautiful member of the modern Rolls-royce family, “It has been outfitted with unmistakably Rolls-royce touches and was made for driving in all road conditions. The drive is so quiet on the open metal roads that you could be mistaken for thinking that you’re parked up watching the sunset.”

Rolls-royce’s new platform has been developed especially for the new generation of its vehicles. Four-wheel steering, air suspension, and a host of new innovations maintain the famous Roller ride quality, and the interior is sumptuous — well, what else would you expect from a vehicle that has the option of 44,000 exterior colours?