Rolls Royce Cullinan facelift unveiled

Rolls-Royce has updated the Cullinan SUV, six years after its launch with new styling, an overhauled interior, updated technology and with a special focus on offering extensive personalisation options. Rolls-Royce describes it as "the most extensive Series II development in Rolls-Royce history."

Rolls Royce Cullinan Series II design

The front of the Cullinan has been restyled with new LED daytime-running lights that now run down the edges of the face, joining with a new lower bumper arrangement that's angled up at the sides to give the effect of a yacht breaking through water.

The grille has been given a new look, too: it is now framed top and bottom by horizontal chrome bars, and a new protruding edge below gives the impression that it is sitting atop a plinth. Plus, it now lights up for the first time.

There is a new feature line on the side, running from the brake light to the middle of the rear wheel, and the rear valance now kicks up at the back and is painted high-gloss black to better reflect the road and "create a sense of motion on these fixed forms". A new rear bumper rounds off the body design changes, incorporating a stainless-steel skid plate, and the aluminium wheels are one inch larger than before, at 23-inch.

The more extroverted Cullinan Black Badge is more obviously differentiated from the standard car, now, with black door handles, colour-coded lower bodywork and a bespoke treatment for the air intakes.

Rolls Royce Cullinan Series II interior

The headline upgrade inside is the introduction of a full-width glass panel across the dashboard, with an illuminated cityscape motif in front of the passenger, like that in the Spectre. Another highlight is the new display 'cabinet' in the dash, which houses an intricately detailed analogue clock and a miniaturised, stainless-steel version of the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot.

Rolls says this took four years to develop, and necessitated "a unique partnership between analogue and digital craftspeople to create a dramatic and meticulously orchestrated flow of light".

The Cullinan also gains the latest version of Rolls's Spirit infotainment system, which brings new graphics and displays while enabling personalisation to the extent that owners can change the colours of their instruments to match the paintwork or upholstery. The new version of Spirit also includes Rolls-Royce's dedicated members' app, Whispers, which allows users to lock the car, set destinations and monitor location using their phone.

Rolls-Royce's increasingly lucrative personalisation offering has been expanded with the introduction of a raft of new paint and material options. Highlights include 'Grey Stained Ash', a metallic-effect open-pore wood trim; Duality Twill, an intricately patterned seat fabric made of bamboo fibres; and Placed Perforation, wherein leather upholstery is decorated with highly detailed patterns made up of hundreds of tiny holes.

Rolls Royce Cullinan Series II powertrain

Under the hood, the Cullinan remains mechanically unchanged, which means it continues to be powered by a 6.75-litre, twin-turbocharged V12 engine that’s mated to an 8-speed torque converter automatic gearbox, sending power to all four wheels. In the regular Cullinan, this engine produces 571hp and 850Nm of torque, while in Black Badge spec, it produces 600hp and 900Nm.