Rolls-Royce says SUV will in fact be called Cullinan, releases photos

Referring to the quite simply enormous Cullinan diamond, Rolls-Royce says the name befits the new "high-bodied vehicle," carefully steering around the SUV moniker.

"The name Cullinan has been hiding in plain sight since we revealed it as the project name some years ago," says Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös. "It is the most fitting name for our extraordinary new product. Cullinan is a motor car of such clarity of purpose, such flawless quality and preciousness, and such presence that it recalibrates the scale and possibility of true luxury. Just like the Cullinan Diamond, the largest flawless diamond ever found, it emerges when it is perfect and exists above all others."

At the same time, Rolls-Royce  also released new official photos of the Cullinan, though it is still wearing camouflage. One of the photos depicts a test mule climbing a muddy hill, a territory unclaimed by Rolls-Royces except for ones modified by privateer rally teams. The Cullinan, based on a new proprietary aluminum spaceframe, is expected to be unveiled by late summer 2018, with deliveries starting in 2019. The vehicle's introduction is planned to lift the brand's yearly sales to 5,000 units per year, as they fell to 3,362 in 2017.