Currently reading: Rolls-Royce's second EV spotted for the first time – and it's a big SUV

Goodwood car maker's next electric car, after the Spectre, will go up against Bentley's incoming maiden EV

This is our first look at Rolls-Royce’s second EV, a huge Cullinan-sized SUV that will go toe-to-toe with Bentley's maiden EV.

While no official information about the vehicle has been released by the Goodwood car maker, Rolls has long said it was close to unveiling the next member of its EV line-up, following the Spectre in 2024.

Indeed, in January last year, CEO Chris Brownridge told Autocar “that there will be another electric Rolls-Royce later this year”, and while the car maker has missed that target, these pictures suggest it is close to being production-ready.

The car could be unveiled at this July’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, given it will be built less than a mile away at Rolls-Royce's headquarters, into which the firm last year invested £300m to get EV-ready. Pebble Beach’s Concours d'Elegance in August is another possibility, given the luxury-focused event is attended by likely buyers of such a car.

The prototype mule was spotted testing at parent company BMW Group’s proving ground in Arjeplog, Sweden. 

The pictures appear to show that the SUV has very similar proportions to the Cullinan – the only SUV Rolls sells – possibly pointing to this being an electric sibling, or even replacement, of that car.

Such a move would make sense, given that the Cullinan is Rolls' best-seller by some margin – it accounted for the majority of the car maker’s 5664 sales in 2025. However, replacing the big-selling ICE Cullinan with an EV won't be a decision the firm will take lightly, especially in light of current buyer trends and as other luxury makers turn away from electric cars.

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When approached, Rolls told Autocar that it is “unable to comment on future product plans”.

Expected to go on sale next year around the same time as Bentley's electric SUV, the new EV will be the first model overseen by design director Domagoj Dukec, BMW’s former design boss who moved to the West Sussex firm in 2024.

The new SUV is expected to, like the rest of the Rolls range, sit on the car maker’s bespoke AOL platform, while taking advantage of parent BMW Group’s new technologies, including batteries and software. The new BMW iX3, which was launched at the end of last year, is the first to use this technology and offers 500 miles of range, the biggest of any production car currently on sale in the UK.

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Will Rimell

Will Rimell Autocar
Title: News editor

Will is Autocar's news editor.​ His focus is on setting Autocar's news agenda, interviewing top executives, reporting from car launches, and unearthing exclusives.

As part of his role, he also manages Autocar Business – the brand's B2B platform – and Haymarket's aftermarket publication CAT.

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tuga 15 January 2026
Split headlights? Urgh....

Dreading this, tbh. That Dukec guy really didn't impress during his tenure at BMW.