Rolls-Royce has confirmed that they’ll be entering the luxury SUV market, but apart from that, very few details have been revealed. This week, however, we’ve found out that the car has a name, and that name is Cullinan.
We’re sure you were expecting something a little more prestigious and grandiose, but if the name doesn’t ring a bell, it alludes to the Cullinan diamond, the largest gem-quality ever found. The diamond, discovered in 1905 in South Africa, was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the mine. The Great Star of Africa is the largest polished gem cut from the stone, and sits on top of St. Edward’s Sceptre amongst England’s crown jewels.
You can start to see where Rolls-Royce is going with this.
The name was revealed by former Rolls-Royce Chairman and current BMW head of Sales and Marketing Ian Robertson in an interview with Auto Express. Robertson stated that the name is currently a code name and is not guaranteed to stick. He also explained that the SUV will be positioned beneath the Phantom, as “The Phantom always has to be the pinnacle.”
The Cullinan is also likely to share the Phantom’s lightweight aluminum space frame, this indicating that it could also house the luxury sedan’s V12 engine.
Related: Rolls-Royce’s one-off Phantom ‘Serenity’ is a celebration of royal silk
Rumors of a Rolls-Royce SUV have been bandied about for years, but in response to Rival Bentley moving forward with its own luxury utility vehicle, the now-named Bentayga, Chairman Peter Schwarzenbauer put rumors to rest. An open letter from the chairman confirmed that an SUV that would meet the standards of the company would be made, and that the likely lauch period would be 2017.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.