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The car industry is facing a bit of a problem right now.
People aren't buying cars anymore, at least not like they used to.
Right now in the US, the top selling cars.
They aren't cars at all, they're SUV's.
That's a particular challenge for a brand like Rolls Royce.
They've been making some of the world's greatest luxury cars for over a century now and they don't need to go chasing trends.
But an industry shift like this, it can't be ignored.
And so welcome, to Cullinan.
Yes, it's a SUV, but it's more than that.
This is the world's first Rolls Royce SUV.
To find out exactly what that means, we're gonna have to head out there.
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Named after the largest Jim Coley diamond ever discovered, the Colleen is meant to be an all purpose Rolls Royce.
And to test that intent we've come to Wyoming.
It's not only one of the most beautiful places on earth, it's a land of endless open spaces and not much in between.
In other words, it's perfect for testing a machine intended to cover long stretches of road in the ultimate of luxury, and to sustain that luxury, even when the road ends.
Colin enrolls on a lifted version of the Phantom eight platform and is powered by the six and three quarters liter twin turbo charged V12 offering a whopping 563 horsepower and 637 pound feet of torque.
That's a remarkable amount of shove, but there's a remarkable amount of car to be shoved [SOUND] So 5800 pounds worth
Out on the road you don't really feel all that mass.
In fact you don't really feel much of anything.
But thats not to say that this is a totally numb driving experience.
There's actually a decent amount of steering fuel here and the brake pedal, okay it's a long throw but it's not as long as As you might expect from other Rolls-Royces.
In fact, the driving dynamic here is quite a bit different than the Phantom that this car is based on.
Because while the Phantom is the kind of car that you're expected to be driven in, the Caldona is the kind of car that you might actually want to take out and drive yourself.
So it's meant to be a little bit more involving, and you can definitely feel that from behind the wheel.
But what those two cars do share is the absolutely impeccable ride quality.
We've been on smooth pavement, broken pavement, even cattle guards, and this thing has been totally unphased.
Part of that is thanks to Rolls-Royce's Flagbearer system, which is a set of stereoscopic cameras that are looking forward and constantly reading the road ahead.
Every couple of milliseconds they're adjusting the suspension based on the character of what they see.
The car's even looking at GPS data, meaning the call-in has a better idea of what's around the next bend than I do.
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What about when the road stops?
The Cullinan doesn't, at least it doesn't need to.
With one press of the off-road button the Rolls SUV lifts its air suspension an extra inch and a half and gets itself ready for whatever you wanna throw at it.
Yes, there is just one button.
No worries about 15 different drive modes to toggle.
Through.
Even on road-based tires the car was remarkably good on some impressively steep terrain despite the lack of proper lock and differentials.
The 360 cameras helped to keep me centered on some very narrow trails.
The hill descent control made the downhill course really easy.
Now it's hard to imagine many a [UNKNOWN] owner engaging in too many rock-hopping antics, but I can see a fair few owners doing a bit of green laneing to get to their hunting grounds.
And with [UNKNOWN] you would never even have to leave the car.
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The [UNKNOWN] doesn't just share a platform with the Phantom, it shares an overall design language, too.
In fact, if you take a Phantom 8 and give it a little stretch, you wouldn't be too far off from what we have here.
But of course the back of the [UNKNOWN] is a hatchback.
This isn't though where you're gonna store your dogs or your groceries.
No, Rolls Royce has something much more special planned for back here.
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Now right now we've just got a standard hatchback here, but Rolls will offer a series of what are called recreational modules which might sound like something you'd get at your local dispensary, but it's actually a lot more posh then that.
You'll be able to plug in different things depending upon what you wanna do with your car.
So you can go hunting, or stargazing, or even drone racing from the back of your Colonie although I've gotta say, I don't know too many drone racers who can afford one of these.
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The back seat of the Colony is where many owners will spend most of their time being Whisked away to whatever fantastic location or event the planners have booked for them.
And of course, this is an incredibly comfortable cocoon.
All the materials are top shelf.
The controls have beautiful heft, and even the picnic table.
Here opens with seems like a sense of purpose.
This is just a really incredible place to be.
And what if Sir or Madam should prefer to drive themselves, as indeed 80% of all Rolls Royce customers do.
Well, they'll be treated to the latest rendition of Rolls Royce's infotainment system which bears more than passing resemblance to BMW's I-Drive, no surprise there.
The rotary controller is the primary interface, but for the first time in a Rolls-Royce, there is a touch screen.
And yes, it even works if you're wearing light gloves, or black gloves, as it were.
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So how does the new Cullinan stand up to the wilds of Wyoming?
Remarkably well.
On road or off, this thing never lost its poise, and it always kept me in the ultimate of comfort on the inside.
So if you're looking for a car that can take you from your hunting grounds to the polo grounds, from the back country to the back lot, this could be your next ride.
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