[SS-Traveller]

Emme Hall and her navigator Rebecca Donaghe are taking a rally-prepped Rolls Royce Cullinan to the Rebelle Rally between October 10 & 19, 2019.

The Rebelle Rally is the first women’s off-road navigation rally raid in the United States. Blending the love of driving with the ultimate challenge of precise navigation, the Rebelle tests participants' skills over 8 days of competition. It is not a race for speed, but a unique and demanding event based on the elements of headings, hidden checkpoints, time, and distance using maps, compass, and roadbook.

The Rally covers more than 2,000 kilometers of stunning terrain across the Nevada and California desert. It is designed as a hybrid of serious competition and the ultimate road trip.

Emme Hall has competed off-road in a lot of vehicles. She drove an Isuzu D-Max and a Land Rover Defender in the Gazelle Rally in Morocco, she helped take a 1969 Volkswagen Bug to the finish line in the Baja 1000, and she has piloted a Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and Jeep Wrangler Rubicon to podium finishes in the Rebelle Rally earlier.

Donaghe and Hall will be competing in the Crossover Class, where vehicles are all-wheel drive without a two-speed transfer case. As such, they won't get as far into the rocks and dunes as the 4x4 class, but they'll still see a lot of nasty terrain.

Emme Hall and her navigator Rebecca Donaghe won the 4x4 class last year as well as the Bone Stock trophy in the 2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon


The Cullinan










The Rolls-Royce has an off-road mode that gives it about nine inches of ground clearance, which isn't bad for an all-wheel-drive crossover. But to tackle something like the Rebelle, it's going to need some more help. Rocks can be big and sharp, so Rolls-Royce added a full skid plate underneath the Cullinan. It's made up of three pieces, so if it needs to come off during the rally for whatever reason, it's easier to manage. RR installed tiny little skid plates on the height sensors, as well, and a sturdy jacking point on either side of the car.





Emme happened to already have a light bar that fit perfectly under the Cullinan's grille, so she had that installed, as well. There shouldn't be any night driving, but you never know, she says.



Inside, Rolls-Royce added a super cool tire-mounting system that holds two spares, with room in the middle for a jack, tow rope and small tool bag.





Tires, as it turns out, are the most important upgrade. Ask anyone who's tackled trails before -- tires can mean the difference between stuck and unstuck, and here's where it gets tricky with the Cullinan. This ultra-luxury SUV comes with 22-inch wheels wrapped in 285/40 rubber in the rear, but 255/45 in the front, to clear the shock mount. Since there is space to carry two spares, having staggered tires means they would only have one for the front and one for the rear, or they could run the smaller tires on the rear as well.

Thankfully, Rolls-Royce offers 21-inch wheels for the optional winter tires, and they're the same size all the way around: 255/50. With the clearance issue in the front, the total wheel and tire package can not exceed 31.5 inches. And while I'd normally fit even smaller wheels, 21s are actually the littlest ones that will still clear the Cullinan's giant brakes.



Emme Hall left the 6.75-liter V12 engine alone, because she thought 563 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque will be enough.



Read in greater detail (with more pictures) at these links:

I'm taking the 2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan on the 7-day off-road Rebelle Rally

How I prepped the Rolls-Royce Cullinan for 7 days of off-road competition

Follow the Rebelle Rally at this link.

[vj123]

Looks like an interesting choice of wheels for a rally.

Cullinan would be a great vehicle to munch miles with luxury. But it would be interesting to see how the vehicle fairs under extreme terrain conditions.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by vj123

Looks like an interesting choice of wheels for a rally.

Cullinan would be a great vehicle to munch miles with luxury. But it would be interesting to see how the vehicle fairs under extreme terrain conditions.

Looks like Rolls Royce is officially backing them?

If so - would be a good way to spend some marketing dollars, to convince the CEO sitting in the second row that his 10 crore luxury isn't just a Phantom on stilts!

[vj123]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Looks like Rolls Royce is officially backing them?

If so - would be a good way to spend some marketing dollars, to convince the CEO sitting in the second row that his 10 crore luxury isn't just a Phantom on stilts!

Yeah, seems like it. This sponsorship (if true) will bring a great marketing and publicity strategy for RR. Also they can prove their vehicle's capability in a real world scenario.

[ajmat]

Most probably, it would have been a pre-production/validation vehicle lent for this purpose. Unfit for sale but fit for such use.

[ChiragM]

Havent heard of this rally before, but it looks interesting. The Cullinan is supposed to be the most expensive car to take part (no surprise there). Reminds of the time Top Gear took the Bentley Continental to a rally.

Rolls Royce carried out quite a lot of tests off-road before the vehicle was launched, so it should be more than capable for this rally. The course won't be as challenging as it is for the extreme off-roaders. This must be the most extreme that a Cullinan would have to take part in. I am pretty sure no owner would take their ultra-luxury SUV off-road, but would love to know what the car is capable of. Looks like the changes done to the car are minimum just to protect the vital components. The rally can be used as a PR stunt for RR to boost the image of the Cullinan as an off-road vehicle.

Emme happened to already have a light bar that fit perfectly under the Cullinan's grille, so she had that installed, as well. There shouldn't be any night driving, but you never know, she says.

This light bar seems to be placed way too low. It could easily get damaged when the car is taken off-road, and especially when it is being driven at high speeds.