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Rolls-Royce is officially in the SUV business

This might be the most brand-appropriate announcement ever for a previously unthinkinable vehicle, complete with a press release titled like a royal edict. After saying a month ago that it would decide on building an mixed-terrain hauler by the end of the year, Rolls-Royce issued a press release entitled, "An Open Letter from the Chairman and Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars on the Subject of a New Rolls-Royce." Let's hold on a second while the sound of trumpets dies down. Nowhere among its 453 words will you find the acronym "SUV," nor the words "sport" or "utility." You will find talk of "an all-new Rolls-Royce," "a high-bodied car, with an all-new aluminum architecture," "a vehicle that can cross any terrain," and references to Lawrence of Arabia traversing mountain ranges and "the vastness of unexplored deserts" and the founders' "rigorous overland adventures," complete with sepia photos. And then there's this: "History sets our precedent and our future calls us to action." Let's hold on a second while the applause dies down. We don't know when we'll see it - Rolls-Royce says it plans to take its time getting it right, to create a vehicle that is "Effortless ... Everywhere." We would believe any date we read about, though; not even two years ago we were told a Rolls-Royce SUV hadn't even been discussed since such a vehicle couldn't fit into the brand ethos, not even a year ago the company's head designer had narrowed it down to "a shooting brake, not a crossover with a sloping roof. A proper SUV," with the Ghost platform for support and a speculated release date of 2017. If they brought a near-production-ready sample to the Frankfurt Motor Show this year, we wouldn't be surprised. We sincerely hope that, like the image, it comes with a man to shovel any obstacles out of the way. Gather round the dais and enjoy the press release below. It's a whole new world. Related Video: AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS ON THE SUBJECT OF A NEW ROLLS-ROYCE 18.02.2015 -- The launch of Phantom in 2003 marked the beginning of the renaissance of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Since then, we have set a new benchmark for what a super-luxury car should be – unique, hand-crafted, beautiful and rare. Often imitated, Phantom has never been equalled and continues to be hailed as 'The Best Car in the World' by our customers and media alike.

Ultra-luxury automakers like Bentley and Rolls-Royce need to hurry up with EVs

In the five years that I've worked at Autoblog, I've read a lot of press releases. They're all pretty flowery and self-serving, but the ones that go the extra distance with lavish words and pompous phrasing tend to come from the most luxurious brands, Bentley and Rolls-Royce. And something that they both love talking about is sustainably sourced materials for their vehicles. The descriptions read like they've seen the light about using resources responsibly. That would be great, except for one thing: There's nothing sustainable about multi-ton land yachts with eight or more cylinders. Only one of Bentley's models can be had with fuel economy better than 20 mpg combined when running on gasoline, and guess what, it's not one of the brand's two plug-in hybrids (which are to be commended, but still seem half-hearted when we're talking serious sustainability). And Rolls-Royce is even worse without a single model even hitting 15 mpg combined. These automakers should have at least one EV model apiece. Apparently, there are some coming, but they're still years away, and that frankly shocks and frustrates me for a number of reasons. One of the big ones is that these brands couldn't be better suited to electric propulsion. What makes these cars impressive is their refinement and performance. You can't get much better in either of those categories than with beefy electric motors, which provide nearly silent operation with no gear changes and enormous power and torque ratings. And it's all achievable with a lot less effort than making an 8- or 12-cylinder internal combustion engine quiet and smooth. Sure, battery technology is complicated, and it's expensive and heavy, but all of that is covered by these brand's typical products. They can command prices that would easily absorb the cost of batteries. And the size and weight of current cars mean that loading them up with batteries to achieve range comparable to their gas models wouldn't be a problem, either. Heck, that's the exact strategy being used by GM and Ford to get huge range in their electric trucks. 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S View 41 Photos And the cost of the EV technology shouldn't even be that great for Bentley or Rolls-Royce, since they're both owned by companies that are leaders in electric car development with existing technology and the ability to spread costs out over various brands.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan offered in miniature 1:8 scale replica

Rolls-Royce sold a record 5,152 cars last year, up 25% thanks to demand for its new Cullinan SUV, and now it wants to sell a new version. It’s a 1:8 scale replica of the ultra-luxury “high-bodied vehicle,” which is what the brand originally went out of its way to refer to what it now acknowledges is an SUV. These are incredibly detailed, not-so-miniature replicas of the Cullinan, down to fully-functioning exterior lights operated by remote control and a “perfect likeness” of the 571-horsepower 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12. It also has illuminated tread plates, embroidered headrests and wood finishes in the cabin Each model is individually built by hand — and a white-gloved hand at that, if weÂ’re to believe the manufacturerÂ’s photos — from more than 1,000 components. Each one takes as much as 450 hours to build, which is more than half the time it takes to build the real vehicle at Goodwood. ItÂ’s then hand-painted with Rolls-Royce color-matched paint and polished by hand. Clients can choose from an astonishing 40,000 standard colors, or replicate a finish of their own choosing. The finished product comes presented in a meter-long display case, set on a gloss-black floor and mounted on a base, with a removable plastic window for closer inspection of the minutiae. “It demonstrates, and reminds us as a company, that inspiring greatness applies at every scale,” the brandÂ’s CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos said in a statement. WeÂ’ve asked Rolls about the price for the miniature and will update this if we hear back. The starting price of the full-size SUV itÂ’s modeled on is $330,000. Related Video: