Rolls Royce is taking steps into new segments out of their popular limousine and saloon variants. The high bodied Cullinan SUV prototype is one such venture which was revealed in January and now the model is officially confirmed as spy shots get leaked.

The prototype version of the car was revealed during the auto show. Rolls Royce didn’t reveal much details about the model and it was considered to be more of an experiment than an actual production variant. However, the Cullinan is out and it was being winter tested as the brand gets ready to roll it out to dealership stores. The SUV is hugely inspired by the latest model launched by Bentley Bentayga.

Rolls Royce wanted a high bodied sports utility vehicle of its own and started working on it. The spy shots have emerged from Sweden, a favorite spot where car manufacturers go to stress test their vehicles before the launch.

From the pictures, it is evident that the Cullinan is built on the Phantom body shell. Even though, it looks a lot like the existing platform, the brand has constructed its own platform which will be debuting with this particular SUV. We presume it is below the outer construction that is seen in the spy shots and obviously the manufacturer didn’t wish to reveal too much before an actual launch takes place.

Talking about the car, the company’s designers confirmed they are working really hard to ensure that the benchmark set by previous Rolls Royce vehicles is continued in the new model. They are making it as a quiet but a solid performer on the road.

There is no word on the powertrain being used in the car. However, we do know that the Bentley Bentayga SUV is using a twin-turbo V12 engine. When Rolls Royce is competing with a car of this standard, they are expected to use the same engine or the one which could be tweaked to deliver a near performance. Rumors suggest that the same V12 is being used in the Cullinan but it has not been confirmed so far.

While the competitor has priced their car at $229,100, the brand value allows them to price it much higher despite the fact that both SUVs are relatively similar in terms of design, performance and features. The Rolls Royce SUV is expected to be priced above $400,00.

It is scheduled to go into production towards the end of 2017 while it is set to reach customers by 2018 which is a long way to go.