Rolls-Royce will show off their SUV in front of potential customers during multiple 鈥渃losed-room鈥?events starting this summer. Codenamed Cullinan, the SUV is expected to push the British luxury car maker鈥檚 annual sales figures past 5,000 units per year. In 2016, Rolls-Royce sold 4,011 cars, only to see sales dip by 16% to 3,362 units last year, as reported by Autonews. Unlike other luxury SUVs, the Cullinan鈥檚 platform is unique to the brand. In other words, Rolls-Royce knows that their customers aren鈥檛 looking to get the same deal Bentley Benteyga owners got - namely how the Bentayga uses the same VW Group platform as the Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and Lamborghini Urus. Rolls-Royce will unveil the SUV publicly in late summer, while sales will commence towards the end of the year. As for first deliveries, we鈥檒l have to wait for the beginning of 2019, as per reports. Whether it will be called the Cullinan or not, the Rolls-Royce SUV is expected to utilize the same twin turbo V12 power unit found in the latest-generation Phantom. That would give it 571 PS and 900 Nm of torque.
The steering is 11 percent quicker on the standard car and 6 percent swifter with the optional rear-axle system, a feature present on the test vehicle. But this only allows one to place the 911 with more precision when a gap in traffic shows up. There was no time to assess the real-world fuel efficiency of the new 911, but I can put on my Captain Obvious hat and tell you this much: don't try to achieve the official figures. On a side note, I have two candidates for the programable button on the central part of the dash: the Sports Exhaust (the test vehicle had this option) and the engine start-stop deactivation. You see, even with the soundtrack of the TT flat-six not being all that serious, it still feels unfit to witness the engine being put to sleep and resurrected while attempting to enjoy a city drive. Perhaps the upcoming hybrid model(s) will change this by allowing the driver to focus on the energy flow game while in heavy traffic.Go!
And while I couldn't take the rear-engined machine to a track to try and replicate such numbers, I can tell you the highway and winding road driving experience delivered by the car totally backs them up. The Carrera S could hit 155 mph (250 km/h) like it's nothing. In fact, here are a few sprinting samples involving more reasonable speeds. You'll be looking at iPhone-captured Launch Control stunts: the first brings the classic outside view, the second delivers a slow-mo twist, while the third takes one into the cabin for a POV experience. Keep in mind that Porsche's LC feature is brutally simple: put the car in Sport Plus, work the brake/throttle and you're good to go. Oh and if the car comes with the Porsche crest on the headrest (the tester had this option), you might get a temporary tatoo, or a partial hairstyle. The Porsche's deceleration abilities are just as impressive.
The rear discs have jumped from 330 to 350 millimeters, while the pedal travel is even shorter. Oh, and the pedal itself is the stuff of motorsport, mixing steel, carbon fiber and plastic to shave 300 grams. Getting used to the compact operating window of the Neunelfer's stopping hardware is done quickly and the car rewards you with impressive, consistent performance. 9,000. And you have more reasons not to tick this box than you might expect. As far as the pros go, the PCCBs reduce unsprung weight, which brings both handling and ride advantages, they offer superior fading resistance, look cooler to geeks and don't leave brake dust on those sleek rims. However, the downsides include more squeaks (this is arguable) and the kind of acquisition and especially maintenance costs that can cause a headache. You see, Porsche recently labeled carbon-ceramics as being the best choice for those who don't like cleaning their wheels. So while PCCBs were previously presented as the track junkie's choice, the kind of overly aggressive heat cycles experienced during club events can degrade the carbon fibers in the rotors, with the company acknowledging this.