Cullinan II? Absolutely Not, Says Rolls-Royce Boss (With a Big Asterisk)

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

As connoisseurs of fine gemstones all know, the world’s largest fine-cut colorless diamond is the Cullinan, otherwise known as the Star of Africa. It was only natural that Rolls-Royce chose the name of the largest of the Crown Jewels for its high-sided car (or whatever term it uses for its new SUV).

Also contained in that vast London collection is a lesser stone, the Cullinan II, but don’t expect Rolls-Royce to bend to industry norms and craft a second, smaller SUV for lesser-monied buyers. That’s just not in the cards, the automaker’s boss claims. Unless, of course, it is.

Gotta go with the flow, you know.

Speaking to Britain’s Autocar, Torsten Müller-Ötvös cleared the air while also muddying the waters. The brand’s sticking with the five models it has now, he said. Two sedans, a coupe, a convertible, and the massive, ornate SUV unveiled earlier this year.

Müller-Ötvös said he’s seen no demand for a second utility vehicle model from his “ultra-luxury” customers, but that doesn’t mean the door’s slammed shut on the idea.

“No, definitely not,” he said of the possibility of a wider SUV range. “You need to go with the flow, so for that reason, I’d never say never, never, never – but we don’t currently have any plans to expand our model line-up any further.”

Offering a slightly more affordable Roller would erode the perception of the brand, he added. Besides, buyers are apparently burying the company in Cullinan orders.

“Our strategy is definitely to maintain our high-end price position and not move the brand just for volume sake into lower-price segments,” he told the publication.

When asked about the automaker’s looming competition from a resurrected Lagonda brand (an Aston Martin division), Müller-Ötvös couldn’t resist a dig at the ultra-modern electric concepts previewed by his British rival.

“It’s just a sketch,” the CEO said. “I can’t say anything more. Cullinan is real.”

[Image: Rolls-Royce]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Inside Looking Out Inside Looking Out on Jun 27, 2018

    RR will eventually become like Cadillac want they that or not - you have to go with flow, you know. How about compact FWD RR? There is a market for that.

  • Jonnyanalog Jonnyanalog on Jun 28, 2018

    Just a few years ago RR said they weren’t going to get caught up in the SUV game yet here we are. There will be another SUV in their future. Money talks.

  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
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