The first Rolls-Royce brand SUV already classic editorial test, in which we discussed all the specifics of this giant, passed. This time, however, let’s sit together in a version that is very rare, but actually typical for this brand.
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Rolls-Royce was founded on an individual approach to the customer. After all, all luxury cars in the early days of motoring meant custom bodywork on a proven chassis.
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In today’s age of self-supporting bodies and all kinds of regulations, that is no longer the case – mostly. Even for the Goodwood brand, which can sell its palaces on wheels for really high sums, it must be increasingly difficult to adapt for these reasons.
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This effort has several levels, but it is always the common denominator of the Bespoke department. First of all, if the client does not choose from the hundreds of paints and upholstery in the standard offer, he can otherwise have the mass-produced car painted or upholstered basically according to his wishes.
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The other extreme is a reminder of the old days, i.e. a model made with a truly custom-made body. Considering how much the homologation of components and production costs, at least three cars with such a body will be created, and at the same time it is the most expensive car in the world. We are talking about the Boat Tail project mentioned in two of the three specimens. According to the British Autocar, one will cost approximately 580 million crowns.
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Special limited editions, which will be created in a maximum of dozens of pieces, are a sort of intermediate stage. The brand itself is surrounded by countless engaging stories from history and the present, but these editions also tell other stories, they always have a theme.
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For example, a hundred Wraith Kryptos are oriented towards the computer world, twenty Phantom Tempus limousines look into space, and I could go on.
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But today we have the Cullinan Frozen Lakes, which was created in only fourteen specimens. This time, the team from the Bespoke department was inspired by the winter landscape of Eastern and Central Europe.
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A lacquer you must see
“The project brought back memories of my childhood in the French Alps. It is very rewarding to work on projects with such a strong personal connection,” said designer Yohan Benchetrit.
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Rolls-Royce Cullinan Frozen Lakes
Photo: Adam Mogyorosi, Novinky
Cullinan achieves the impression of an ice kingdom with just paint. The edition can be white or dark blue, as in our case, but the varnish is always “covered” with a crystalline coating, which probably no camera can capture as well as the human eye.
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The painting process takes several days and the result is a real reminder of the sharpness, transparency, reflections and contrasts of the icy surfaces of frozen lakes.
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Rolls-Royce Cullinan Frozen Lakes
Photo: Adam Mogyorosi, Novinky
Even the typical side line traditionally seen on Rolls-Royce cars has a hint of cracked ice, considering that the entire line, including this ornament on the front fender, is hand-painted with squirrel tail. Absolutely straight and exact.
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The visual addition to the edition is also black window moldings or gray wheels with contrasting turquoise brake calipers.
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Down to the last detail
The interior is finished in either “our” white or dark blue, always with turquoise details.
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The wood veneer used on the dashboard and picnic tables is particularly fascinating. It mimics the cracked ice patterns that are typical of permafrost regions.
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Rolls-Royce Cullinan Frozen Lakes
Photo: Adam Mogyorosi, Novinky
Long strands of frozen “water” are delicately hand-painted and then sealed under a layer of clear lacquer. The process, which takes up to two weeks for each iteration, is repeated with different colors to create a three-dimensional effect.
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Rolls-Royce Cullinan Frozen Lakes
Photo: Adam Mogyorosi, Novinky
Each car from this edition has five separate elements with this unique finish. These are painted in exact order, by the same artist, to ensure absolute consistency and continuity.
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Hand-rendered decorations are a real decoration.
Foto: Rolls-Royce
Live, it’s seriously a piece of art that you can stand looking at for a really long time. In addition, this configuration detracts from the natural massiveness of the interior of the Cullinan, on the contrary, it appears much more enlightened.
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The cars are also equipped with a new form of the characteristic ceiling upholstery with LED lights imitating the starry sky. It is made entirely by hand and the process requires a minimum of 18 hours of work.
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The next configuration is not directly related to the limited edition, but the four-seater variant with crystal glass only supported the icy impression of the whole.
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Ice calm as always
Cullinan hasn’t had it easy since he first appeared in 2018. However, the extremely conservative brand defended its first SUV, which it didn’t even want to call an SUV at the beginning, in the end quite well.
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This is not just about sales and popularity among customers, but with a little distance it is necessary to recognize that this type of body does not interfere with the character of the brand at all, on the contrary.
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If the range-topping Phantom ever pulls up next to you, you realize just how tall the car really is, and the Cullinan just adds inches on the same platform. The Cullinan also has an interesting rear end with a small protrusion in the style of cars from the twenties and thirties. A detail that sets it apart from other boxy SUVs, however.
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Rolls-Royce Cullinan Frozen Lakes
Photo: Adam Mogyorosi, Novinky
The higher ground clearance of the chassis and off-road capabilities thanks to the air suspension and all-wheel drive make it easy to sell in the Eastern European, Arab and other markets, where even the most affluent can count on trips outside nice asphalt roads.
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And last but not least, it is undeniably a Rolls-Royce as far as performance is concerned. The honest technology of the aforementioned “luxury architecture”, as Rolls-Royce calls its unique platform, gives the car incredible damping comfort and the pearl of the engine, which is a twin-turbocharged twelve-cylinder with a traditional displacement of 6.75 liters.
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Rolls-Royce Cullinan Frozen Lakes
Photo: Adam Mogyorosi, Novinky
The chassis deserves its famous comfort, even if some types of unevenness are still better handled by limousines phantom or new ghost. The noise reduction is almost absolute, when even on the highway you can hear the ticking of your watch on your wrist.
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And the said engine, in cooperation with the eight-speed gearbox, behaves exactly as you want from a Rolls-Royce. For this brand, the power value of 420 kW, 571 hp, is essentially completely secondary. More important is the 850 Nm available from just 1,600 rpm.
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Rolls-Royce Cullinan Frozen Lakes
Photo: Adam Mogyorosi, Novinky
The extremely smooth gearbox does everything to make the engine use the lower rev range. It is not for nothing that there is traditionally an indicator of the remaining power instead of a tachometer.
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Cars of no other brand will come off like this. The transmission uses newton meters located below and allows the torque converter to massively slip when starting, and the car starts with a slight swing, very supple. And you can step on the gas pedal as much as you want. You won’t experience jerks or noticeable stress even during a quick start.
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Are you in a hurry? The aura of this car does everything to make sure you don’t even think about it, but when you press the gas pedal sharply to the sheep’s rug, the Cullinan gives you a moment to think, and after a while it leans limply into the rear wheels and accelerates noticeably, but certainly not hastily.
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The Cullinan holds the track very well in the corner, but it leans and does not give much information to the driver, the engine takes off, but it is still refined and, together with the whole car, tells you: that’s enough, let’s sail again.
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After all, considering that i classic Cullinan teaches the driver to be ice-calm, this edition is actually even more apt than you think at first glance.
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| Rolls-Royce Cullinan Frozen Lakes | |
| Motor: |
6.75 l, fork petrol twelve-cylinder, 2x turbo |
| Max. power: |
420 kW (571 hp) at 5000 rpm |
| Max. torque: |
850 Nm at 1600 rpm |
| Transmission: |
eight-speed automatic |
| 0-100 km/h: |
5,2 s |
| Top speed: |
250 km/h (electrically limited) |
| Average consumption: |
15.6-16.6L/100km |
| Curb weight: |
2660 kg |
| Length x WIDTH X HEIGHT: |
5341 x 2000 x 1835 mm |
| Basic luggage volume: |
does not state |
| Drive axle: |
4×4 |
| Price of the tested car: | 425,722 euros (approx. 10,477,000 crowns) |
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