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Rolls-Royce to show new Cullinan SUV in 'closed-room' events

Rolls-Royce plans a series of closed-room events starting this summer to show off its upcoming ultra-luxury SUV to potential buyers ahead of its expected unveiling in late summer. Codenamed the Cullinan and described by the company as an "all-terrain, high-sided vehicle," the SUV is Rolls-Royce's answer to ultra-luxury competitors like the Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini's new Urus. It's expected to nudge the brand's vehicle sales past 5,000 a year after sales in 2017 fell 16 percent to 3,362, Automotive News reports. Engineers are now finalizing the handling of the vehicle on Germany's Nurburgring track. The Cullinan bears the luxury brand's signature long hood, vertical-slatted grille and upright, block-like fascia. It will be built on the same aluminum platform as the Phantom and is also likely to share the 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 that makes 563 horsepower and and eight-speed automatic transmission, only in all-wheel-drive. Sales are expected to start near the end of the year with deliveries beginning in 2019.Related Video:

Top Gear has an Extra Gear problem | Episode Review

When the BBC announced Extra Gear, I was excited. As an avid fan of show's like The Talking Dead – companion show to AMC's hit The Walking Dead – a behind-the-scenes look at my favorite motoring show sounded promising. But with the fifth episodes of each show, I'm worried that Top Gear is suffering to keep Extra Gear interesting. We'll start with Chris Evans, inarguably the most heavily criticized member of the new Top Gear team. Evans is progressively less shouty and more comfortable filming while driving in each episode – the fifth is no different. He's almost likable in the Zenos E10 video, like a ginger James May, and he delivers accurate and eloquent driving impressions. The review is entertaining, until Extra Gear shows the producers cut a huge element – an old-versus-new sprint around the Race of Champions circuit at the Olympic Stadium in London. Former Formula 1 ace David Coulthard would drive a Caterham 360, while current F1 pro Daniel Riccardo rocked the Zenos. If the entire premise of Evans review is that the Zenos E10 is the newest of the new for British super-lightweight track toys, why did the producers decide to leave a race against the segment's standard bearer for Extra Gear? It's a baffling move, cutting a segment of the film that reinforces Evans' excitement over the Zenos. Rory Reid's Jaguar F-Type SVR piece is excellent. Fifty five years to the day after Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis raced to the Geneva Motor Show in a second E-Type for display, Reid would attempt the same feat in an SVR. If he failed, Jaguar wouldn't have a car to display. Dewis made the 750-mile trip with 13 hours of notice, and Reid would need to do the same. It's a brilliant, simple premise that reminded me of Jeremy Clarkson's so-called "Race against God" in a Jaguar XJ, way back in season 16. The history of the challenge and Dewis' gravelly commentary add gravitas. But the entire film goes by so fast. It's longer than Evans' Zenos video or Harris' BMW M2 film, but at less than ten minutes, Reid and the SVR deserved more screen time. Extra Gear poured salt in that particular wound with a great segment featuring Norman Dewis that deserved to be in the main show. Reid takes the famed test driver for a spin around the Dunsfold track, then, instead of the comedian of the week, the hosts interview Dewis on Extra Gear's couch.

Rolls-Royce Spectre revealed — its first-ever, 577-horsepower electric car

Next year, Rolls-Royce plans to deliver its first EV: Spectre. Teased more than a year ago, this new EV will be the first battery-powered model from Rolls-Royce (but not its last) as the company turns the page to what CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos called "the start of a bold new chapter" for the show-stopping British marque. While the Spectre is not yet ready for prime time, the new battery-powered coupe has reached the point where Rolls-Royce is comfortable sharing it with the world as its engineers work to hammer out the details.  Rolls-Royce Spectre EV View 34 Photos Its side profile may suggest that Spectre shares its underpinnings with the Wraith, but Rolls-Royce says that's not the case. Aerodynamic drag be damned, Rolls-Royce went out of its way to redesign the Spirit of Ecstasy so that it could remain a fixture of the company's design even in a world where even the smallest hint of turbulence can draw scrutiny. This is the first production implementation of the revised ornament. Under the skin lies an all-aluminum architecture engineered to reduce mass wherever possible. This (and its derivatives) will be the platform upon which Rolls-Royce's future EVs will ride; it's also shared with the company's latest round of petroleum-powered models. Rolls-Royce says it is also 30% stiffer than any previous model the company has sold, which is no mean feat considering the fact that its engineers incorporated the battery pack into the Spectre's structure.  Integrating powertrain into the chassis can be a nightmare for internal combustion models, but Rolls-Royce says it has paid big dividends with Spectre. Mass dampening is one of the most effective means of controlling vehicle NVH, and very few components offer the density of a battery pack. All 700 kilograms (~1,540 pounds) pull double duty as sound deadening in the Spectre. That brings its total curb weight to just under 6,650 pounds — approximately 1,300 pounds heavier than the Wraith.  Rolls-Royce says it'll have more than enough power to overcome that mass. While specifications of the battery pack and motors are not yet available, Rolls-Royce did confirm that it its targeting a power output of 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. It should hit 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds on the way to a top speed of 155. With its 23-inch wheels, it should offer approximately 260 miles of range on the EPA cycle.