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Inside, attendees were treated to welcome cocktails from an open bar and canapés as they explored the showroom, which was filled with spotlights, backlit flower arrangements encased in ice, a candlelit mirror room and, of course, the hotly anticipated Cullinan itself, hidden under a grey tarp.

No one peeked. Peeking is for poor people.

The first SUV Rolls-Royce has produced, Cullinan’s launch was gifted to Vancouver in large part because Canadians have been the ones clamouring loudest for an all-terrain Rolls-Royce.

“Canadians have been the most vocal in asking — in fact, begging — Rolls-Royce to build a car like this,” said Christian Chia, president and CEO of OpenRoad Auto Group and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Vancouver.

When you think of the most pressing issues for Canadians, the lack of luxury all-terrain vehicles may not come to mind. But that’s probably because you’re not crazy rich. A lot of people in Vancouver are. While the rest of us fret over how to afford fuelling up our Honda Civics, the super-rich want a Rolls-Royce that chugs gas like it’s Keystone Light.

“Vancouver actually is one of the strongest markets for Rolls-Royce,” explained Chia. “Just that combination of very sophisticated people that want something they can rely on in all weather, that’s the main reason. The people who live in the southern parts of North America and even Latin America don’t require that kind of all-weather capability.”

Cullinan marks a departure for the brand in other ways than its off-road capability. It’s also the first time Rolls-Royce has named a vehicle after something tangible, as opposed to something ethereal. Previous models have been named Phantom, Ghost, Wraith, and Dawn. Cullinan gets its name from a real thing, albeit one you’re about as likely to encounter in real life as an honest-to-goodness phantom — the Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever unearthed at 3,106 carats. It was discovered in South Africa and, in true colonial fashion, presented to King Edward VII, who cut it up and mounted pieces in his crown and sceptre, just in case the market for this vehicle wasn’t clear. Are you a pound-foolish kingly type? Test-drive a Cullinan today.