Rolls-Royce luxury Cullinan SUV makes SA debut
Following a highly successful debut to the world’s media in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Sandton has revealed South Africa’s first Cullinan into the region at an exclusive event for Rolls-Royce Owners.
When Rolls-Royce announced three years ago that it would launch Cullinan, it did so in the knowledge that its customers around the world had asked it to build “The Rolls-Royce of SUVs”, with luxury, performance and usability not seen before in the SUV market.
Super-luxury SUV
Automotive mobility has always been a fast moving and dynamic business, with new concepts – such as SUVs – appearing with great regularity. But those new concepts need to be perfected to be adopted by those customers who will accept no compromise – the patrons of true luxury. Hence the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
To mark this momentous occasion; the journey with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Sandton started off in Pretoria in The Blue Train departure lounge. Synonymous for the Ultimate in luxury; The Blue Train was an obvious choice to launch a motor vehicle that is the answer to visionaries, adventurers, explorers and those who believe in the supremacy of liberty.
After being treated to a glass or two of Champagne; guests were invited to embark aboard one of the most luxurious trains in the world. The Blue Train has defined a new era of luxury travel, making the switch from steam to electric and diesel, linking veld to sea, tradition to progress, with a sense of style, grace, and mesmerising power that has never come close to being matched. The route between Pretoria and Cape Town is a 31-hour journey of 1600km , through some of the most diverse and spectacular scenery offered by the African sub-continent.
Five course dining, live entertainment, a touch of magic and a lot of class saw the train stop in Kimberley for a visit to The Big Hole Museum to enjoy a tour of the Old Town, The Museum and of course The Big Hole. Diamond digging commenced at the Kimberley mine site in 1871.
By the time mining ended on 14 August 1914, the mine had yielded 2722kg of diamonds, extracted from 22.5-million tons of excavated earth. Today what remains is a massive crater 214 meters deep with a surface area of 17 hectares and a perimeter of 1.6km. It is surrounded by original buildings from the heyday of the mine, relocated from earlier sites to form an unforgettable open-air visitor experience.
In a surprise turn of events; the tour culminated in the reveal of Rolls-Royce’s first all-terrain SUV; inside the Museum. Cullinan awakes at the touch of the unlock button on the Bespoke key, or indeed by simply reaching out to its beautifully tactile stainless-steel door handle.
It lowers itself by 40mm to make entry effortless as the iconic Rolls-Royce coach doors stand open to welcome driver and passengers to their adventure.
Having stepped directly into the cabin, thanks to the wide aperture of the doors and completely flat floor, driver and passengers press the door closing button to seal themselves within the sanctuary of Cullinan’s cabin. Or one touch of the sensor on the exterior door handles will see the doors automatically close themselves from outside.
A touch of the start button then elevates Cullinan 40mm to its standard, commanding ride height, placing its occupants in the perfect position from which to see the world as it drives off.
“Using the Kimberley Mine Museum as our launch venue made perfect sense with its Diamond history and the fact that The Rolls-Royce Cullinan was named after a diamond discovered in South Africa on 26 January 1905” explains Marek Letowt; General Manager Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Sandton.
“Response to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan from our owner’s; prospects and local and international visitors of the museum was unequivocally positive, and I am delighted that our first customer has now received his vehicle with the remaining deliveries happening early next year”.
The vehicle is in high demand with new orders only being taken for 2020. South Africa will be receiving eight vehicles in total in 2019; all of which have been sold.
https://www.wheels24.co.za/NewModels/rolls-royce-cullinan-makes-sa-debut-20181213
