Surprising no one, Rolls-Royce has confirmed that it is joining rival brands in offering an ultra-luxe, SUV-like product in coming years. We say “SUV-like” because Rolls is referring to it as an “everywhere” vehicle—cue collective eye-roll—and claims that it is absolutely not a tit-for-tat answer to the Bentley Bentayga SUV that will debut a couple of weeks from now at the Geneva motor show.
Significantly, the new, “high-bodied” Roller will be built on a fresh, all-aluminum platform that is unique to Rolls-Royce, dispelling rumors that it would be an offshoot of the upcoming BMW X7. And as with its stablemates, power will come from a fat V-12. Our sources within Rolls-Royce also told us that it would not look like a Ghost station wagon—and that it “will be huge.” We expect it to be larger and likely more powerful than the Bentley, and we also wouldn’t be surprised to see other Rollers—including the Phantom replacement—to be built on the same bones.
The appearance of this fourth Rolls-Royce product should increase R-R production to record levels, but don’t expect it to become as common as a Honda Civic, as our sources assure us that, unlike Ferrari, Rolls-Royce is hellbent on remaining “elusive” (which, apparently, is even better than being “exclusive”).
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- Rolls-Royce Brand Research: Reviews, Pricing, and More on Every Model
As for the “everywhere” vehicle thing, mincing of words is not entirely baseless in this case, as to describe a vehicle like this as a “sport-utility vehicle” could constitute nothing short of mockery of the word “sport.” It’s also worth remembering that Rolls-Royce is not new to semantic diversions; only recently did the company start stating horsepower and torque figures for its behemoth engines, previously declaring them only to produce “sufficient” or “adequate” output in both regards. No word on when or whether the new vehicle might be previewed in concept form at an auto show, but watch this space for the inevitable spy shots of development mules—that is, unless they prove just too elusive.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1A3ZwvB
via Agya
