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As the Spectre has started to redefine Rolls-Royce for the electric era, attention has turned to how the storied brand will evolve its Cullinan without an internal combustion engine. These new spy shots give us a sneak peek at the form it’ll take, and it looks like a pretty familiar one, at least in the broad strokes.
If you’re a fan of the current Cullinan’s looks—and I know there aren’t many of you—I’d say the news is pretty good. The brick-like front end and, shall we say, bulbous rear of this prototype echo the existing SUV’s profile. Maybe the deck between the rear window and trunk face is a bit sharper, a bit larger, and maybe the light signatures are a touch different.
The main headlight projectors appear to be vertically stacked under the horizontal accent LED, which is sort of the opposite of how the gas Cullinan arranges them. The tails also look narrower and longer, cutting a shape more like the Spectre’s.
You could look at this two ways: Either Rolls could aim to use the electrification moment to draw a line in the sand from the company’s previous design ethos, like Jaguar, or it simply wants to make the Cullinan EV look like just another member of the family. I’d argue that there’s no need for a table-flipping upheaval like Jag’s—Rolls’ business is much healthier (read: alive)—and the existing Cullinan is a hit with its clients, like it or not. So, why mess with success?
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Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.
