The Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II Updates Ultimate Luxury SUV

The super-luxury automaker ups the ante on its opulent, 592-horsepower land yacht.

Maxim Staff

May 8, 2024

Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan Series II (Rolls-Royce)

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan, the undisputed king of the luxury SUV space, has just widened the gap between the throne and its subjects with the Cullinan Series II.

Recall that the Cullinan was launched in 2018, presumably to take advantage of the still-spiking SUV segment. But with a price tag that most recently approached $400,000, the Cullinan has always resided in a niche that’s accessible only to the .1 percent, just like every other current Rolls-Royce model.

The most exclusive of the already-exclusive Cullinan is the Black Badge, which returns for Series II. It retains the Cullinan’s turbocharged, 6.75-liter V12, which sends 592 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque to front and rear-steered axles. In accordance with Black Badge tradition, all exterior brightwork is rendered in black, including the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine, window surrounds, door handles, rear tailgate and bumper.

Inside, Black Badge’s lauded naked-weave carbon fiber finish returns, which features a repeating pattern of geometric shapes, that, according to Rolls-Royce, create a 3D-effect when viewed in-person. If individual rear seats are commissioned, clients can include the Black Badge infinity logo on the rear carbon section that separates the rear reclining seats and conceals the Cullinan Series II Champagne cooler.

The Black Badge Cullinan interior’s focal point might be the clock cabinet, which houses an analogue timepiece and an another, up-lit, stainless steel Spirit of Ecstasy figurine. Air vent surrounds on the dashboard and in the rear cabin are darkened using physical vapor deposition, a method of coloring metal that’s commonly used to treat luxe timepieces.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II (Rolls-Royce)

However, the “standard” Cullinan Series II, which gets the same engine but a slight reduction in output to 563 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, is still a sight to behold. As Car and Driver points out, the signature Pantheon grille is illuminated for the first time, while the rectangular headlights gain a new L-shaped LED strip, creating an illusion of extra width. The bumper now features air intakes that form a V-shape, recalling the bow of a yacht.

All Cullinan models also ride on seven-spoke 23-inch billet-aluminum rims and feature a glass panel stretching the full width of the dashboard, on which 7,000 dots have been laser-etched to help give a global Cityscape graphic more depth. Rolls’ Spirit infotainment system, which first debuted on the all-electric Spectre, is now loaded in the Cullinan, offering an interface for streaming car management functions; controlling seat massage, cooling, and heating functions; tailoring the color of instrument dials, and much more.