Saar: The Phantom-based SUV will become the first ever “high-bodied” car to wear the legendary double Rs.

Rolls-Royce has finally confirmed that its first-ever “high-bodied” car will make its official digital reveal on May 10, 2018. “High-bodied”, you may ask? Well, that’s what Brits like to call it and doesn’t give into the fact that it is an SUV. Just in case you are wondering, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan will be unveiled without any camouflage via a live stream event. It is high time that British ultra-luxury car marque showed the world what exactly has it been cooking over the years.

There is no other way of saying it – the Rolls-Royce Cullinan has been through a plethora of rugged testing in its development phase. Several spy shots have surfaced from around the globe for the past year or so. Earlier this month, Rolls-Royce announced that the Cullinan has entered its final testing phase. To capture and release some well-spoken snippets of it being brutally tested across Dubai, North America, Scotland and Austria, Rolls-Royce partnered with National Geographic. And sure enough, the company stuck with its promise that it made over three years ago – involving everyone in the development and testing phase of the Cullinan.

So, what do we know about the Rolls-Royce Cullinan? First of all, as mentioned above, it is underpinned by the same platform as the Phantom saloon. That means unlike the Ghost and Wraith, which are essentially BMW 7  Series underneath, the Cullinan will be all Rolls-Royce. Apart from that fact that it was developed using BMW money but we’ll gloss over that. As you’d expect from a vehicle wearing the legendary double Rs, the Cullinan is expected to take the game of luxury high-riding SUVs to a different planet.

The overall silhouette of the Cullinan will be traditional Rolls-Royce too and could very well look like a jacked-up Phantom. The trademark grille design will be accompanied by large, rectangular headlamp enclosures on either side and the “spirit of ecstasy” riding on top. In all likelihood, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan will borrow the same 6.75-litre V12 from the Phantom and will come mated to a sophisticated four-wheel-drive system.

Rolls-Royce has never spoken about it competing with other automakers. But let’s put it this way, makers of the Range Rover SVAutobiography and the Bentley  Bentayga will be keeping a close eye on the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Price-wise the Cullinan is likely to surpass the Phantom and take the flagship crown. It will be super-expensive, to say the least. And although people rich-enough to spend on a Cullinan won’t mind the ginormous fuel bills, expect Rolls-Royce to introduce a hybrid variant of the Cullinan to keep the environmentalists satisfied.