Rolls-Royce has refreshed the Cullinan and is calling the updated SUV the Cullinan Series II. Powered by a twin-turbocharged 6.8-liter V-12 engine generating 571 horsepower and 627 pounds-feet of torque, the Series II doesn’t really differ mechanically from what we now feel we should refer to as the Cullinan Series I. But a few subtle updates to the exterior styling and rich new materials inside establish a new foundation for the Cullinan’s extensive personalization options.
Up front, the Series II features an illuminated grille and vertical daytime running lights to emphasize the vehicle’s substantial height. The lower air intakes form a V-shape in the front end that Rolls-Royce says recalls “the sharp bow lines of modern sports yachts.” What, you thought all yachts were just yachts? Shake the RC Cola out of your ears. The lower body trim is now gloss black to reflect the road surface and reinforce the sense of motion.
The Cullinan Series II features a central touchscreen that runs Rolls-Royce’s Spirit operating system, which debuted on the electric Spectre coupe. And this being Rolls, buyers can spec the color of their dials and needles to coordinate with interior and exterior finishes. That is possibly cheaper than painting physical pieces, but maybe not, given the meticulous shading Rolls does to make the needles appear real.
Additionally, the Spirit system includes the Rolls-Royce app Whispers, which allows you to set a destination — say, a sprawling compound in the hills outside the city — on your phone and transfer it to the Cullinan. It also allows for remote control over vehicle parameters such as locking and unlocking the doors.
The analog clock now rides in a miniature glass cabinet set into the dash; it shares this space with a miniature Spirit of Ecstasy that echoes the hood ornament, this one with her own mood lighting that shifts when the vehicle is started. The available gray-stained ash wood trim is finished with microscopic metallic particles in a process Rolls says took more than four years to develop.
Facing the front passenger is a Rolls-Royce Illuminated Fascia panel like that found in the Ghost and Spectre. The standard panel features some 7,000 dots laser-etched in different sizes and at various angles into a pane of darkened, backlit glass, creating a miniature nighttime cityscape. Buyers can, of course, work with Rolls’s Bespoke design department to create their own motif.
The newly available Duality Twill interior utilizes a new rayon fabric made from bamboo. Rolls-Royce says fully upholstering the Cullinan’s interior in this material uses 11 miles of thread and incorporates up to 2.2 million stitches. The fabric is available in three colors — purple, brown and black — and with 51 different colors of thread. And the new Placed Perforation goes beyond the straight rows typical in perforated leather; instead, it uses pinholes that Rolls says are “inspired by the constantly changing shapes and shadows of the clouds over the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood” to create unique shapes.
Black Badge
Rolls calls its Black Badge trim the brand’s “disruptive alter ego.”
Following the footsteps of cheaper such packages, the Black Badge includes a black grille and Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament and blacks out all exterior brightwork including the window surrounds. Buyers can spec a monochromatic exterior instead of the regular Series II’s black lower-body trim, as well as brake calipers in red, black, teal, orange and yellow.
The Black Badge is not, however, simply an appearance package. It also features an active exhaust system and a recalibrated transmission for faster shifts at wide-open throttle. The brake pedal is likewise retuned for quicker response. The Black Badge also ups power output to 600 hp and 664 pounds-feet of torque.
Inside the Black Badge has more dark and carbon-fiber trim. The Black Badge logo, an infinity symbol, is embroidered into the rear seatbacks, unless buyers spec the Individual Rear Seats. Then, an aluminum infinity symbol is laid between the third and fourth of six layers of tinted lacquer that’s applied to the carbon-fiber cover for the champagne cooler between the rear seats, creating the illusion of it floating. The Spirit of Ecstasy in the dashboard clock cabinet is also, naturally, black.
