Rolls-Royce will build offroading SUV

Chris Woodyard | USA TODAY

Rolls-Royce has confirmed the previously unthinkable: It's going to build an SUV.

And not just any SUV, but one that is off-road capable -- or as Rolls put it: "able to cross any terrain." It is sure to be one of the world's most expensive vehicles, one that's long and tall, not boxy, per se. Yet Rolls vowed it is going to be true to the brand, all the way down to the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. It will be built on a new chassis.

Confirmation of the new vehicle came in an "open letter" from CEO Torsten Muller-Ötvos that never actually calls it an SUV. Rather it is called "a high-bodied car with an with an all-aluminum architecture." Rolls officials are adamant, but won't elaborate: It's fair to call it an SUV, but it won't be considered a truck.

No pictures or renderings are being shown and the model is expected to be years away from deliveries. One possible name: the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.

The decision by Rolls, a unit of BMW, comes as archrival Bentley, part of Volkswagen Group, is about to embark on making its own SUV. It's going to be called the Bentayga, which Automotive News says "sounds like a good name for a pain medication." It, too, promises to be super-expensive.

Currently, Rolls makes three cars -- the giant Phantom sedan, slightly smaller Ghost and the Wraith fastback.

"Now we have reached another seminal moment in Rolls-Royce's 111-year journey," writes Muller-Otvos. He says the new vehicle the "pioneering, adventurous spirit" upon which the brand was founded, with "effortless luxury."

It wouldn't be the first off-roading Rolls, he points out. Even Lawrence of Arabia one to conquer the desert.