This is the Taillight of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan

And although it’s basically an SUV, don’t call it one – Rolls-Royce wants you to think of the Cullinan as an “all-terrain, high-sided vehicle”.

Today is the day a new chapter begins, not just at Rolls-Royce but for the SUV industry.

Earlier preview materials from the British company referred to the camouflaged version as a “high-sided auto”. Internally, Rolls only whispers the word SUV when talking about the Cullinan. Surely they’ll have Rolls’ new SUV namesake, too – a few in fact.

As you can see from the video below, put together in collaboration with National Geographic, Rolls-Royce wasn’t so shy about showing off the vehicle’s off-road capabilities of its first foray into the SUV market when in camouflage livery during final trials in the UAE desert recently.

As yet Rolls-Royce has not disclosed how much the vehicle will cost, but speculation is that it will be about £250,000, twice the price of the “entry-level” Ghost model.

“At this point in the history of automotive design, SUVs have become homogenous and ubiquitous”, said Giles Taylor, Rolls-Royce design director, in a statement. It’s certainly among the most powerful, with Rolls’ 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 cranking out 563 hp and sending 627 lb-ft to the new all-wheel-drive, all-wheel-steer system.

But we’re still awaiting confirmation of the engine’s capacity, power, torque and other key figures. Rolls-Royce promises that the Cullinan provides the company’s magic carpet-like ride even over rough off-road surfaces.

Many SUVs and crossovers can be hard to distinguish.

Structural improvements include lighter architecture, self-levelling air suspension, larger air struts, strengthened drive and prop shafts.

In more recent decades, though, Rolls-Royce has been better known for providing ultimate comfort while traversing the world’s paved motorways in cars like the Phantom, Wraith or Dawn. The grille is hand-polished stainless steel incorporating the Rolls-Royce badge and Spirit of Ecstasy.

The squared-off body and muscular proportions continue to the rear, with the rump featuring upright narrow tail-light units that echo the look of the company’s wider range. The hood is raised higher than the wings to convey a certain toughness.

In the back is where you’ll find the biggest deviation from Rolls tradition, though.

The interior consists of expected luxurious touches. The coolest option is the viewing suite.

“Fly fishing, photography, rock climbing, snowboarding, parascending, kite boarding, base jumping, volcano boarding or simply sitting and taking in the view, anything is possible thanks to the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective”, says the marque in its latest release.