Bentley, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Maserati - they're all brands that have launched their first 4X4 model in the last year or so.
And now Rolls-Royce is following suit, with the arrival of the new Cullinan due in 2018.
Here's a sneak peak of of what the world's most expensive mass-production SUV will look like.
The camo Cullinan: This is
Rolls-Royce's first 4X4 that will being testing in the UK this week
covered in prototype camouflage to hide details of what it will look
like.
The new go-anywhere offroader will be sent to the Arctic Circle after Christmas to endure extreme cold-weather tests.
Rolls-Royce
has already confirmed Project Cullinan - its maiden SUV model - with a
selection of pictures of the test mule, though hidden in the more
familiar Phantom shell as a disguise.
But
these two new images released this week have given us a glimpse into
what the raised, robust and that-bit-boxier 4X4 will really look like
when it appears in the brand's flashy 130-strong dealer network around
the world from 2018.
The
pictures mark the start of the Cullinan's UK road-test schedule - which
begins today (2 December) - when it will be used on public highways for
the first time to undergo development.
Described
by the British marque - now owned by the BMW Group - as an
'all-terrain, high-sided vehicle', the testing will help Rolls-Royce
fine-tune the all-wheel drive suspension system and new aluminium
chassis that will underpin all new models in the future.
Until this week, these were the first images of the Cullinan test mule, which is disguised in a Rolls-Royce Phantom body.
Despite having the a shortened version
of the Phantom shell covering it, the raised ride height of the
forthcoming 4X4 is clear to see.
Torsten
Müller-Ötvös, CEO for the brand, said: 'This is an incredibly exciting
moment in the development of Project Cullinan both for Rolls-Royce and
for the patrons of luxury that follow us around the world.
'Bringing
together the new four-wheel drive system and the new ‘architecture of
luxury’ for the first time sets us on the road to creating a truly
authentic Rolls-Royce which, like its forebears, will reset the standard
by which all other luxury goods are judged.'
The car will ultimately go head-to-head with Bentley's equally premium SUV, the Bentayga, which hit the market earlier in 2016.
Bentley and
Jaguar are two British brands (though now under German and Indian
ownership respectively) to release their first SUVs in 2016. On the left
is Bentley's Bentayga and to the right, Jaguar's F-Pace.
The
Italians are at it too - left: Alfa Romeo's recently revealed Stelvio,
right: Maserati's Bentley Bentayga rival, the Levante 4X4.
And
Bentley wasn't the only premium automaker to release its first-ever
jacked-up 4X4 - Jaguar's much-awaited F-Pace went on sale this year,
while both Alfa Romeo and Maserati previewed their SUV efforts in the
shape of the Stelvio and Levante respectively.
To
hide its true identity while undertaking UK road testing, the
ground-breaking Roller will be lathered in this zebra prototype
camouflage for the time being until it is officially unveiled to the
public in a year's time.
Rolls-Royce
has also confirmed that the development model will head to the Arctic
Circle after Christmas to endure a period of extreme cold-weather
testing before it's shipped to the Middle East later in the new year to
pass intense desert trials.
With
existing models proving enormously popular in places like Dubai, these
intense temperature tests are designed to prove the models can cope in
all conditions.
No
prices have been revealed yet, but expect it to be in the region of the
existing Phantom at around £300,000. And like all Rolls-Royce variants,
buyers will be able to fully customise their car to taste at an
additional cost.
The Cullinan has been under development for some time ahead of its 2018 launch
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