King Charles' New Rolls-Royce Makes Its Debut – Here's What's Under The Hood

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan II that was given to King Charles as a coronation gift in 2023 has been shown to the public for the first time. King Charles' Cullinan II made its public debut on the Mall, a royal road lined with trees that extends from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace, in late January 2026. The Rolls-Royce was a gift from Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, the King of Bahrain, and carries the license plate NLT 2.

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan II is a facelifted, more refined version of the original Rolls-Royce Cullinan, which the automaker first unveiled in 2018. The Cullinan II debuted for the 2025 model year and features several upgrades, both inside and out. On the outside, there are new daytime running lights and new air intakes. The Cullinan II's Pantheon grille is now illuminated, and the 23-inch seven-spoke alloy wheels that the Cullinan II rides on, in either fully or partially polished versions, are also new.

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan II does not have any mechanical changes compared to the original Cullinan. It uses the same 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine, which produces 563 hp. This power flows through an eight-speed automatic transmission before being sent to all four wheels. This engine is good for some impressive performance numbers, with Car and Driver recording a 4.5-second 0-60 mph run. The luxury SUV hits 100 mph in 10.5 seconds, with the quarter-mile passing by in 12.9 seconds at 111 mph.

Inside the Cullinan II are delights for the super-luxury SUV's driver and passengers. The driver's instrument display is fully digital, although it recreates classic analog dials. The dash features a 10.25-inch touchscreen, which now incorporates the Spirit operating system that was first used on Rolls-Royce's Spectre electric vehicle. This OS was developed by parent BMW, which has owned Rolls-Royce since 2003, but it remains true to the Rolls-Royce tradition of good looks and easy operation. The interior, including its plush seating, is finished in high-quality leather, and we were certainly impressed with the Cullinan II's quiet and luxurious interior when we tested one.

The price for all of this luxury starts at $410,000, but it is highly unlikely that anyone would buy one of these ultra-luxe SUVs without adding some custom touches to suit their own personal tastes. Rolls-Royce's Bespoke division, responsible for customizing vehicles for their customers' specific preferences, had its best year ever in 2024, with the company as a whole delivering 5,712 vehicles for sale. The Bespoke division also expanded its network of Private Offices, with the marque's existing international outposts in Shanghai and Dubai joined by new ones in Seoul and New York. It's not clear how exactly King Charles' Cullinan II was customized, but either way, it's good to be the King of England.