With today’s SUV craze taking over the world and no end in sight, Rolls-Royce was bound to offer a high-riding vehicle at one point. Announced a while back, the so-called Project Cullinan is getting closer to its world debut with every passing second and it looks like this summer it even got some time on the Nurburgring, as surprising as that may seem. By the looks of things, this isn’t exactly the perfect place to take a two and a half ton SUV.

The new Rolls-Royce model will be borrowing some of its underpinnings from the Phantom but, according to the CEO of the company, it won’t be the epitome of the brand, despite its size. That place will still be reserved for the Phantom, as peculiar as it may sound. However, there will be plenty of similarities between the two, from sharing the engine, to the interior design. As Rolls-Royce puts it, the result of the work they have invested in Project Cullinan will not be an ‘SUV’ but a ‘high-riding vehicle’.

Call us crazy then but the car we’re looking at in the footage below definitely looks like a Sports Utility Vehicle, especially when  you take into consideration it’s being tested on the Nurburgring. Then again, all cars developed under BMW’s wing are being put to the test on the Green Hell, so why should the Cullinan be any different? By the looks of things, the driver is also enjoying his time behind the wheel, despite the tire squeal and the noticeable leaning in corners.

As far as the technical side goes, the upcoming model will be riding on a modified version of the aluminum platform of the eight generation Phantom. The engine will be shared too, the V12 mill providing plenty of power even for a car of this size, at least for a while, while Rolls-Royce is working on its electric future.