Wondering what does HSV mean?
With Bentley already sending Bentaygas to wealthy customers, Rolls-Royce is pushing forward with the so-called Project Cullinan SUV. Except they're saying it won't be an SUV like Bentley's Bentayga.
According to Motoring (cited by Motor Trend), Rolls-Royce officials made it clear that the company is reluctant to call their upcoming car an SUV, as it will look more like a "high-riding luxury wagon."
"We call it a high-sided vehicle. SUV is not necessarily the right thing to call it because it’s not sports, it’s not necessarily utility.”
Andrew Boyle, Rolls-Royce Global Production Communication Manager
So there you have it: HSV, the short term for high-sided vehicle. A new sub-niche to join the existing abbreviations like SUV and SAC.
Up until this point, Project Cullinan has been surrounded in mystery as few things are known about the car. However, Rolls-Royce began testing the aluminum-spaceframe architecture that underpins the vehicle earlier this year, as Auto Express reported, and will continue to do so "on public roads in various locations around the world."
Furthermore, we expect the Cullinan SUV HSV to boast a V12 engine, which Car and Driver claims might actually be a revised version of the 6.6-liter twin-turbo used by the Rolls-Royce Ghost. The same outlet also speculates that a hybrid version could follow.
Expected to debut in the first half of 2018, the new Rolls-Royce model will reportedly add 2,000 more units to the luxury carmaker's yearly production, currently set at 4,000 cars, but officials stated that "the Cullinan shouldn’t take us much beyond 6,000," according to Automobile Magazine.
In case you're wondering how the Cullinan moniker popped up, here's something to clear the air: it's the name of a diamond weighing 3,106.75 carats, cut into pieces out of which two are now part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
Rendering courtesy of X-Tomi Design