Rolls-Royce top brass are giving the green light to develop the a much-anticipated ultra luxury SUV.
Speculation and reports for the past several months suggested that Rolls-Royce is considering an SUV that would compete with if not stand above the upcoming Bentley Bentayga SUV. In an open letter, company chairman Peter Schwarzenbauer and CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes confirmed that the yet unnamed product will be designed to “cross any terrain.”
I am proud to confirm that Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is developing an all-new, high-bodied Rolls-Royce designed to satisfy the contemporary, highly mobile lifestyles of our discerning clients around the world,” CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said.
The letter confirms that Rolls-Royce will base its upcoming product on an all-new aluminum architecture. That is expected to be the same platform BMW will use to underpin the upcoming X7 large SUV and the next-generation 7 Series.
Rolls-Royce didn’t outline when a concept preview or production will begin, only that development is underway. A variety of engines from the BMW stable could wind up powering it when it arrives including the 4.4-liter twin turbo V8 or 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 from BMW or even the derivative 6.6-liter V12 that Rolls-Royce uses to power the Ghost. A plug-in hybrid variant is also expected at some point.